Taking Risks and Tempting Fate
by Kris6
Summary: A year ago, Thirteen and Cameron took a chance on each other. With new challenges and secrets, will their relationship grow stronger or will Thirteen’s whole world shatter? Sequel to "Taking A Chance".
1. Lies

**Taking Risks and Tempting Fate**

**Disclaimer**: I wish I owned them, but I don't. If I did you would be watching this rather than reading it.

**Summary**: A year ago, Thirteen and Cameron took a chance on each other. With new challenges and secrets, will their relationship grow stronger or will Thirteen's whole world shatter?

**A/N**: If you haven't read **Taking a Chance**,you should or else you will have no idea what the hell is going on.

**A/N2**: Even though this is just under a year after the end of **Taking a Chance**, the events of season five will be occurring as if they are happening now rather than two months after_ Wilson's Heart_, except for the return of Wilson. And yes, I know that I kind of messed with the timeline quite a bit.

**A/N3**: If you are looking for the same kind of fluff from _**Taking a Chance**_, you may not want to read this because there will be a lot of problems with the "happy" couple and you may not like a lot of it.

**Warnings**: Drugs, alcohol, dark themes, angst, and language. You were warned.

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**Chapter One- Lies**

Remy is sitting patiently and trying to ignore all the noise around her. She called Allison at 5:00 and told her that a particular case was going to keep her late tonight. That was over two hours ago. As a glass of dark amber liquid slides in front of her, she feels guilty for lying.

The brunette takes this drink slower than most of the previous ones, which she quickly downed. She nods her head in thanks to the bartender before turning around in her seat and surveying the crowd around her, drink in hand. Thankfully, it is still the middle of the week so it isn't too busy.

Hearing the ice clinking loudly and continuously in the glass, Hadley looks down and sees the liquid sloshing quite a bit. Quickly, she turns back to the bar and sets the glass down, glaring viciously at it.

"Shit," Thirteen grumbles under her breath as she clenches her eyes shut. _They're getting worse._ She notes hatefully before she picks up her drink and promptly finishes it, despite her resolution to slow down for the night. Remy orders another.

The tremors started almost three months ago. At first she thought House was switching her coffee to caffeinated again just to screw with her. She stopped drinking coffee altogether. When they continued she thought that maybe it was the caffeinated soda she was drinking. So, she stopped drinking soda and consuming anything with a lot of sugar in it. Her tremors persisted…and no one else knows.

Staring into the dark abyss of the drink in front of her, Remy finds herself fighting back tears as she thinks about Alexis and Allison._ I don't want to turn into my mother. I don't want Alex to hate me and I don't want Ally to resent me._ She brushes the traitorous tears from her face before sipping on her rum and coke.

Thinking about her daughter and lover has Hadley wondering about what she is going to do when she leaves the bar. She is aware enough to know that when the alcohol finally catches up with her, in about twenty minutes or so, she is going to be quite drunk. If she goes home, Alex and Allison are going to know full well what she did when she got off of work.

It's moments like these that Thirteen wishes that she had friends. Kutner doesn't really count. Besides, she can't trust him enough to not run to Cameron and tell her that she came over to his apartment, drunk off her ass, so that she could pass out without having to face her girlfriend. Her father would wait until the morning to give her a lecture to match her inevitable hangover…and he'd tell Allison as well.

There is only one real option: the hospital. The first time she slept there was the first time she went out and got really wasted about two months ago. She finds that she is spending more and more nights there. This is the second night in the last five days alone.

With a heavy sigh, Remy settles her tab and grabs her coat. It's still early and, walking out into the cool night air, she closes her eyes and thinks of where else she can go from here. She could tell by the way the bartender was looking at her that he was about to cut her off. Knowing that there is a club not far from where she is, she sets out on foot. Having planned ahead for such an occasion, she left her car in the hospital parking lot. The walk should help sober her up some at least.

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Allison is lounging on the couch at the apartment. It is almost 11:30 and her girlfriend still isn't home yet. Stifling a yawn, she searches the television in vain in an attempt to find something worth watching. Heaving a heavy sigh, she glances at the door as if willing the other woman to walk through it. Her plan doesn't work and she resigns herself to the fact that Remy isn't going to be home again tonight.

Pulling out her cell phone, Allison sends out a quick text message to her girlfriend. She shuts off the television, picks herself up and makes her way to their bedroom.

The blonde pulls back the covers on her side of the bed and slides in. After a moment of shifting around, she finally gets comfortable laying on her right side and facing her girlfriend's usual side of the bed. As if of its own volition, her hand reaches out to rest on the other side of the bed.

Cameron lets a tear slide down her cheek. She can feel the other woman pulling away from her and she doesn't seem to be able to do anything about it. Whenever she brings it up, the brunette just smiles and assures her that everything is fine and, for a day or so afterwards, it is…until Remy begins to retreat into herself again.

Even Alex has picked up on her mother's behavior over the past couple of months. Every week Thirteen seems to be around a bit less than the week before. It breaks Allison's heart a little more every time she has to tell the eight year old that her mom will be home late again…if she comes home at all.

Before she got together with Remy, Allison had no problem sleeping alone…even when she was with Robert. Now it is a different story. It's cold without the other woman's body wrapped around her own to keep her warm. She misses the pleasant scent of her girlfriend surrounding her as she would drift off to sleep.

In an attempt to compensate for Thirteen's absence, Cameron pulls the other woman's pillow to her body. She buries her face in the plush fabric and inhales deeply. It isn't the same, but it will have to do. Allison resents that she has started cuddling up to the brunette's pillow almost as much as she does the actual woman.

"I love you Remy," the blonde whispers to the empty side of the bed hoping that, wherever the other woman is, she can feel the sentiment behind the words. A few tears leak out of the corners of her eyes and leave a trail down the side of her face only to be soaked up into the material of the pillow belonging to the very person they are being shed over.

Allison hates that she has gotten used to crying herself to sleep the nights that her girlfriend doesn't come home.

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'A few more drinks at the club' ended up being more than just that. Remy managed to hook up with a group of twenty-something college students. She was just drunk and depressed enough to indulge in a bout of recreational drug usage.

It isn't until nearly 2:00am that the brunette stumbles out the front door of the club. She regains her balance by leaning against a lamppost. Taking a few moments to reorient herself, she takes slow breaths in and out, wishing that she got her inhaler out of her Jeep before leaving the hospital grounds.

Beginning her trek back to the hospital, Thirteen uses the sides of buildings as a crutch to keep her upright. The usual twenty minute walk takes almost twice that. Most of that is due to her currently inebriated state, the rest having to do with her having to stop walking occasionally so that she can fight back the sporadic waves of nausea overcoming her.

The brunette finally reaches the parking lot. She leans against the driver's side of her car and digs around in her coat pocket for her keys. Once she finds them she doesn't hesitate to unlock the car and pull out her inhaler. Remy quickly takes a couple of puffs from it before replacing it in the center console. Before closing the door, she grabs out a pack of spearmint gum and crams two pieces in her mouth so that she doesn't smell like a brewery when she walks into the hospital.

Hadley makes sure to come in through a side entrance to avoid being seen by anyone who would recognize her, thankful that Cuddy is long gone by this hour. She steps into the elevator to go up to the locker room on the second floor.

The ding of the elevator seems to echo painfully in her head. Thirteen navigates the darkened halls carefully before entering the locker room. She is self-aware enough to know that her clothes smell like, among other things, smoke and alcohol (from that bitch at the club who spilt her pink, girly cocktail all over her). Her remedy for this situation is to take a quick shower and change her clothes.

Despite being almost completely out of it, she knows that after she showers, she is going to sneak down into the clinic or ER and hook herself up to an IV to avoid a hangover later in the morning. Then, finally, after she does that she plans on passing out in one of the beds meant for the doctor's that work long shifts and sometimes need to crash for an hour or so to be able to function. Those beds may be uncomfortable, but beggars can't be choosers. Or, maybe, she'll just sleep on the couch in the Doctor's Lounge again.

Remy hates that she has gotten used to this routine.

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Just under forty-five minutes later, Remy is dragging herself back to the beds upstairs, which are more appealing than ever by now. She knows that she has to deal with the consequences of her actions, so she shouldn't complain about her discomfort.

Collapsing into one of the beds, Remy begins to feel the welcome respite of sleep begin to creep up. Just before she officially drifts off, she feels the vibration in her back pocket signaling a text message.

Thirteen groans and pulls out the cell. She finds that she missed one text from almost four hours ago. Frowning because she hadn't noticed until just now, she opens the message and reads it over. Her eyes scan it a couple of more times before she feels herself tearing up again.

"_**I love you, Rem. Sleep well. - Ally"**_ It reads simply.

Remy snaps her phone shut and lays back on the mattress. Opening the phone up again, she fires off a text of her own. _**"I love you too. - 13" **_With that, she closes her phone and her eyes. Her tears of guilt keep her from falling into a fitful sleep.

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**8:00 am**

Half-way asleep, Thirteen feels a sudden shift in the weight distribution of the bed she is laying on. There is the sensation of someone lightly brushing their fingertips across her cheek. She lazily bats the hand away, her limbs feeling heavy.

There is a light chuckle in response. "Come on Rem. It's time to wake up, Baby," the other person attempts to wake the sleeping woman, amusement in her tone.

Upon hearing the voice, Remy opens her eyes into tiny slits so as not to let in too much light. She allows a small, but genuine, smile to form at the sight of her girlfriend sitting at the end of the bed.

"Morning Sleepyhead," Allison greets the newly awakened woman. "Late night?" She questions, taking in the disoriented appearance of the brunette.

Hadley sits up and looks around in an effort to confirm that she passed out in the hospital again. "Yeah," she replies honestly and with a sheepish expression.

"I brought you some clean clothes. I didn't know if you had any in your locker," Allison states, indicating the neatly folded stack of clothes beside her on the bed.

Struck by the thoughtfulness of the other woman, Thirteen feels remorse over lying to the blonde. "Thank you, Ally," she responds, moving her hand over Cameron's and entwining their fingers together.

"It's no problem," the older woman replies idly as she looks down at their interlaced fingers with a pensive look on her face. She appears to be struggling to say something.

Seeing the torn look on her girlfriend's face, Remy internally panics. On the outside, she merely squeezes Allison's hand gently to get her attention. Once the ER doctor glances up, Thirteen smiles at her reassuringly. "I love you," she states sincerely.

This seems to ease some of the internal struggle the other woman is having. "I love you too," is the earnest reply. Allison's lips quirk up into a vague smile before she stands up, bringing the brunette up with her through their still-joined hands. "Now, you should go change before House gets here," she orders with mock-authority.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The brunette questions with an arched eyebrow, some semblance of playfulness finally coming out as she attempts to forget about her problems. Allison seems to have that effect on her.

"What's that?" Cameron wonders, genuinely confused.

Thirteen smirks before tugging the other woman back into her for a kiss. As their lips connect, Remy releases the other woman's hand so that she can let her own hands down to rest on Allison's hips. Cameron, in turn, brings her hands up and links them behind the taller woman's neck as she steps closer into the embrace.

The brunette is the first to pull away, if only slightly. "I should go get changed," she states regretfully, not wanting this moment to end, but knowing that it will have to.

"And I should get to the ER," Allison replies in the same tone of voice before leaning in and places a brief peck on the other woman's lips, earning a slight smile from her. Her expression turns solemn once again. "Are you going to be home tonight?" She hesitantly questions.

That is the one thing that could dampen the brunette's mood and her smile falters. "I should be," is the closest thing she can get to a promise at this point. She hopes that today is a good day so that she won't feel the need to go out and get shit-faced again.

Cameron nods and gives her a half-hearted smile. "I'll see you later Thirteen," she states, using the nickname that everyone in the hospital refers to the brunette as and the nickname _**she **_only uses at work.

"Okay," Hadley replies, tucking a stray lock of hair behind the other woman's hair before they part ways. She sighs as she watches her lover walk off to the ER. Turning around to head to locker room, she notices a short tremor in her hands. The young doctor clenches her eyes shut and chooses to pretend that it was just a fluke. However, in the back of her mind, she knows that this is going to be a late night again for her.

On her way down to the ER, Cameron's mind flits across the thought that maybe the brunette is cheating on her. She quickly dismisses the thought. They agreed early on to always be honest with one another. If Remy wanted to be with someone else, she would have ended it with her first. Due to her inherent trust in the other woman, she honestly believes that she wouldn't lie to her.

Besides, if the exhausted look on the other woman's face when she woke her up is any indication, Cameron is sure that the brunette spent the night in the hospital working. _She works too much_. The blonde decides.

Now, whether or not House is to blame for keeping them apart, Allison isn't sure. She does, however, know that the next time Remy has to spend the night in the hospital, she is going to have a long talk with House about keeping her girlfriend there so late…especially since he knows that she has a daughter at home.

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So, no one is happy right now. Thirteen is depressed. Cameron is depressed because Thirteen is pulling away from her and Alex, who doesn't know what the hell is going on. A lot can change in a year. At least they're still together, I wonder if it will stay that way for long…

I _**did **_warn you that it would be darker than _**Taking a Chance **_and it will certainly get worse before it gets better, but it _**will**_ get there. Eventually.

Also, I've updated my profile and it shows how far I am on the stories I'm working on, including this one. I'll update it often, so keep checking back.

Don't forget to tell me what you think. Even if you absolutely hate it and hate me for writing it, tell me…it's how I know people are reading. Until next time…


	2. Family Secrets

**Spoilers!**: Quick mention of Thirteen's CAG test results from _Lucky Thirteen_.

**A/N**: I'm sorry that this chapter is so long. It was necessary to end it where I wanted and set up the rest of the story.

**A/N2**: Alexis is in this chapter…and Lucas. I didn't forget about Alexis' father...

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**Chapter Two- Family Secrets**

As Remy walks into the Diagnostics Office, Foreman arches an eyebrow and glances at the clock. "Running a little late this morning?" He questions the brunette.

Thirteen checks her watch in response. "I'm twenty minutes early," she responds in a confused tone of voice since it is only 8:10am.

"I mean running late for you. You're usually the first person here," the other man notes.

"Did Cameron keep you up late?" Kutner questions, wagging his brows suggestively as he does so.

Taub elbows the other doctor in his side as he says this. "Or is Alexis sick again?" He wonders, his voice holding a small amount of concern.

Thirteen rolls her eyes at the other men. She wonders why they decided it was okay to delve into her personal life once House outted her as being a mom, living with Dr. Cameron, _**and **_having Huntington's. It wasn't as if she volunteered this information to them. Except Kutner…by accident.

"None of the above. I _**am **_allowed to be running a little behind every once and awhile," Hadley states, not willing to give anything away.

"Good morning my little Houselings," House greets the others as he limps into the office.

"'Houselings'?" Thirteen asks distastefully, voicing what the others are thinking.

"Just another nickname I'm working on. 'Ducklings' was getting old and Buffy already stole 'Scooby Gang'. You don't like it?" House snarks.

"It's not very original," the brunette shrugs.

"In using it, you are suggesting that we are miniature versions of you. Do you really want a bunch of House Juniors wandering around? I don't think the hospital can take that much ego," Foreman smirks at his boss, expanding on Thirteen's original rebuttal of the nickname.

While House is distracted pondering Foreman's insight, she reaches over and snatches the file from his hand. "Hey!" House snipes in response.

"Get over it," Remy tells him as she looks through the file, trying to conceal her smile as she does so.

Since House told the entire hospital about Remy's daughter and her relationship with Dr. Cameron, he has stopped hounding her about her personal life. He seems to think that he has aired out all of her dirty little secrets. This has afforded Thirteen a certain level of comfort when dealing with her boss. However, she doesn't know what she would do if he found out about the tremors, her partying after work and lying about it to her girlfriend. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she passes the folder around, knowing that he isn't even on to her.

"Meningitis could explain the headaches, muscle soreness, and fatigue," Taub points out after taking a moment to glance through the symptoms.

"But it doesn't explain the mood swings and memory loss," Kutner points out.

"The flu-like symptoms indicate a type of infection," Foreman mumbles.

"Could be lupus," Taub indicates.

" Or MS," Kutner adds.

They all take a moment to ponder the symptoms, the men waiting to see if Thirteen has any input since she has been fairly quiet for the last several minutes. As if sensing their stares, she looks up at them. "Lyme Disease?" She says, sounding more like a question than anything else.

House seems to consider all of their suggestions for a moment before nodding briefly to himself. "Run some blood tests and an MRI," he orders before turning around and going back to his office.

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**1:00 pm**

Thirteen is walking down the hallways downstairs, her face buried in her patient's file. To the average passerby, it would appear as though she is engrossed in going over the patient's test results. In reality, she just wants to appear distracted and unavailable as she makes her way to the break room upstairs.

A couple of hours ago last night began to really catch up with the brunette…the IV fluids apparently not having been enough. There is a dull thud behind her eyes and her mouth is so dry that it feels as though she rinsed her mouth out with sand.

Hadley breathes an internal sigh of relief as she spots the elevator not too far from her. She sets her sights on hitting the up button. However, she is intercepted by one of the multitude of people that she would rather not talk to right now. As a matter of fact, it is the person at the top of the list.

"Hey, Sweetie," Allison greets her girlfriend brightly, having spotted her making her way down the hall. "Where are you off to?" She questions, noting the file in the other woman's hands.

"Delivering the test results to the team upstairs," Remy replies briefly, wanting nothing more than to pop some aspirin and take a nap.

"Well, have you eaten yet? Maybe when you're done we can go get some lunch," the blonde suggests, wanting nothing more than to be able to spend some time with her girlfriend.

Remy sighs. "Honestly, I'm not really hungry right now. My head has been killing me since 10:30 this morning and I just want to lie down," she replies regretfully.

Allison nods in understanding, taking a tentative step towards the other woman. "You don't think you're getting sick, do you?" She questions with concern, raising a hand to the brunette's forehead to check for a temperature.

Thirteen allows herself the luxury of a smirk before removing her girlfriend's hand from her forehead and interlacing their fingers. "I'm fine. It's just a headache," she states with amusement. "But thank you," she offers in response to the blonde's concern, bringing their joined hands up and placing a light kiss on the blonde's knuckles.

"You think it's from not getting a lot of sleep last night?" Cameron wonders with an arched eyebrow.

_Among other things._ Is what Thirteen thinks. "Probably," is what she says, shrugging indifferently.

"I really I should talk to House about keeping you late like that. He's probably doing it on purpose because he knows that you have family waiting for you at home," Allison muses to herself.

Once Cameron refers to herself as 'family', Remy feels another wave of guilt wash over her. "Thanks, _**Mom**_, but I can handle House," she states, maintaining her calm exterior, as she gently squeezes the other woman's hand for emphasis.

"Fine," Cameron sighs dramatically. She notices the subtle shift in her girlfriend's attitude as well. "If there really was something bothering you, you'd tell me…right?" She asks in all seriousness, hoping to get to the root of the younger woman's recent descent into depression.

Remy offers a slight smile in response, instinctively gripping the blonde's hand tighter as she does so. "Of course. If it effects me, it effects you and Alexis as well," she points out, hating herself for lying about telling the truth.

"Okay," Allison nods in acceptance. "I'll let you get to it then," she states before discreetly leaning in to place a brief kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

Despite the fact the everyone in the hospital knows that they are a couple, they really try not to let it interfere with their work environment too much. Besides, you never know when House is lurking around the corner, spying on them.

"I'll see you tonight," Remy promises, resolving that she is going to sleep at home tonight after all.

This brings an unconscious smile to Cameron's face. "I'll see you then, _**Thirteen**_," she smirks at the nickname.

"Alright, _**Dr. Cameron**_," the brunette replies in the same playful tone before hitting the button for the elevator. Allison squeezes her hand gently and makes her way back down the hall as the elevator chimes and its doors open.

Once she has stepped into the elevator, Remy heaves a sigh of relief, having escaped the concerned scrutiny of her girlfriend. Just as the doors are about to close, a hand makes its way into the gap, causing the doors to open once more. Thirteen takes small comfort in it not being House. Then again, her boss' P.I. isn't much better.

"Lucas," Remy greets the man politely as the doors close for good this time.

"Dr. Hadley," the slightly shorter man nods at her, trying not to look her in the eye. Lucas shifts slightly under the other woman's gaze. The scruffy P.I. is not afraid to admit that the brunette doctor intimidates the hell out of him.

If Remy was honest with herself, she would say that the other man's presence was unsettling. She doesn't know if House is using the P.I. to look into his employee's backgrounds or not. Certainly, she wouldn't put it past her boss to do so.

The uncomfortable elevator ride is somewhat brought to an end when they arrive at their desired floor. However, the awkwardness carries over as they both make their way towards the same destination.

Thirteen flings the door to the Diagnostics Office open and steps in. Lucas scurries in behind her before the door shuts completely. "Tests confirm Lyme Disease," she announces before dropping the test results on the desk.

"I'll go get the patient started on antibiotics," Kutner states before making his way through the door.

"Where's Foreman and Taub?" Remy asks her boss with a furrowed brow.

"Sent them to the patient's apartment an hour ago," House waves off the question. Thirteen merely nods before turning around to go lay on the couch in the Doctor's Lounge.

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**6:30 pm**

"We treated her for Lyme Disease, but it must have been covering up a secondary illness," Remy explains into her cell phone, which is pressed between her shoulder and ear as she sifts through some papers in the lab.

There is a groan on the other end of the line. _"You said you would be home tonight,"_ Cameron points out, the disappointment evident in her tone.

"And I will. Kutner and I have to wait for some test results. Then, we'll get her set up with the treatment and I will be on my way home," Remy retorts, having every intention of going home tonight.

"_How long?" _The blonde asks, hoping that she'll be able to actually spend time with her girlfriend before they have to go to bed.

"I'm sure I won't be much later than 8:00," is the confident reply.

"_Okay, I'll see you later then," _Allison says, some of her anger dying down at the definitive answer. _"I love you," _she adds as a bit of an afterthought.

"I love you too," Hadley smiles into the phone before snapping it shut. Her smile instantly drops when she comes across the paper she was looking for.

While it was true that the patient had an underlying illness, the team had already solved the case about twenty minutes ago. After treating the patient, they were free to go. However, in a moment of weakness, Remy ran a CAG test to find out how fast the Huntington's was going to progress. Before she had the chance to read her results, House walked into the lab and she was forced to hide the results in a stack of papers.

Now, much like with the Huntington's test, she wishes that she never took the damn thing in the first place. Her numbers are high…very high. With her numbers, she knows that she has even less time than she originally thought. She'll be lucky if she lives another ten years.

Thirteen drops into a nearby chair and stares off into space. _God, I am going to miss so much. I might not make it to Alex's high school graduation. I'll never get to see what kind of woman she is going to become. If I do get to see any of this, I probably won't even know who she is or be able to understand it._

"Shit," Hadley whispers to herself before standing up and making her way to the exit. She gets in her car and decides to head for the nearest bar. By now, she knows that it was a mistake promising to be home by 8:00. Thirteen won't quite be able to reach her desired state of oblivion tonight.

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Remy checks her watch as she slides into her car. She has had a few drinks, but she isn't stupid. It's just after 8:00 and over the course of the last hour and a half, she downed three shots of Jagermeister shortly after walking in. After that, she slowed down a little, consuming only a few drinks in the last forty-five minutes.

The brunette takes a quick stock of her appearance while she sits in her car in the bar's parking lot. After deciding that her sweatshirt smells like smoke, she sheds it and pulls her leather jacket back on, throwing the sweatshirt in the backseat of her Jeep. Without thinking twice, she pops several pieces of spearmint gum into her mouth and begins chewing. After glancing in the mirror to make sure that she doesn't _**look **_like she's been drinking, she starts her car.

During the ten minute drive from the bar to her apartment, she narrowly avoids hitting a stop sign. However, she _**does **_briefly ride up on the curb as she goes to park. After adjusting her car so that all four tires are on the street, she takes a moment to glance at her appearance once more.

Nodding her head in acceptance, she opens the door and spits out her gum. Then she takes a few long gulps of her Sprite to temper the smell of the gum. She makes a face of disgust at the taste of the soda and spearmint. However disgusting, she knows that it would send up her girlfriend's red flags if she came home with the scent of spearmint clinging so strongly to her…or maybe she is just overly paranoid.

Taking a deep breath, Remy gets out of the Jeep and makes her way to her apartment. She takes the steps somewhat unsteadily, hoping that she appears as sober as she thinks she does. Hesitating for only a moment, she twists the doorknob and enters the apartment.

"Mom!" The dark-haired eight year old instantly greets her with a grin as she moves off of the couch and rushes to hug her.

Hadley's face instantly softens into a smile at the sight of her growing daughter. "Hey Lexi. How was school?" She questions.

"Ben and I had to do our presentation on the solar system today and we got an A," Alexis beams.

"Very good, Sweetheart," Remy grins back proudly before looking up and seeing Allison on the couch, watching them with a reflective smile.

"Welcome home," the blonde offers after being spotted. Remy comes over behind the couch and leans down to give the other woman a kiss.

Allison detects the faint taste of spearmint on her girlfriend's mouth, but thinks nothing of it. Alex giggles at the display, happy to have both women in the same room with her again for the first time this week.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to go get changed," Hadley informs the other two before disappearing into her room.

"Are you and Mom going to make out when she gets back?" Alex immediately asks the blonde.

Allison is always amused by the little girl's bluntness, obviously a trait picked up from her mother. "Maybe," she smirks. After living together for a year, the blonde has long since stopped walking on eggshells around Alex in regards to her relationship with Remy.

Alexis sticks out her tongue before laughing. "I have to go to bed anyways, but no funny business," she retorts in a mock-authoritative tone.

"Yes ma'am," the other woman humors the eight year old.

Back in her and Cameron's bedroom, Remy drops down on her bed, the alcohol from her last couple of drinks finally hitting her. She closes her eyes, hating herself for going out after work in the first place. Now, she has no idea how she will be able to hide her state from her girlfriend. With a deep sigh, she heaves herself up off the bed and sets to getting changed.

Not one minute after leaving the bedroom does her daughter come up and wrap her arms around her waist. "Goodnight Mom," Alexis says, smiling up at her mom.

Remy runs her fingers through the girl's hair briefly. "Goodnight Sweetie," she smiles back, albeit sadly. If Alex picked up on it, she didn't let on. As the eight year old disappears into her room, Thirteen feels her mood drop further with the realization that her daughter is growing up so fast and she is going to miss it all because of her stupid habits and her stupid disease.

When her girlfriend walks into the living room, Allison looks up to greet her with a bright smile. Her expression fades, however, when she sees the despondent look on her lover's face.

"Is everything okay?" The blonde questions with concern.

Thirteen shakes herself out of her funk as best she can. "Yeah. I was just thinking about how Lexi is growing up so fast," she offers the half-truth.

"Tell me about it. All I can say is that she better not skip any more grades because she's going to be graduating soon enough," Cameron replies, despite the fact that the eight year old still has eight years to go before graduating.

"Don't remind me," Remy groans before unsteadily making her way to the couch and dropping down next to her girlfriend.

"Are sure you're feeling alright?" Allison frowns at the other woman's uneven gait.

"Yeah, just a little tired," the brunette quickly covers her slightly drunken tracks.

"Did you want to go lie down and get some sleep? You don't have to stay out here," Cameron wonders with concern over her girlfriend's health.

"I'm fine and I _**want **_to stay out here with you," is the honest reply as Thirteen shifts closer to the blonde. She drapes an arm over Cameron's shoulders and gently draws her nearer.

"Good," Allison smiles, resting her head on the brunette's shoulder. The ER doctor lays an arm over her girlfriend's stomach and snuggles in more intimately. "I've missed you lately," she admits sleepily.

At the admission, Remy clenches her eyes shut and tries to fight back tears. "I've missed you too," she replies in a quiet tone so as to keep her voice from cracking. When she gets no reply, she realizes that that is because the blonde fell asleep.

Shortly after she began showing symptoms of Huntington's, Thirteen decided that she had to remain strong. She doesn't want to break down and show anyone how scared she really is about her Huntington's. She certainly never brings it up and, as far as Cameron and Alexis are concerned, no one even mentions it. Knowing what Allison went through with her late husband, she doesn't want her to suffer through her own personal drama.

So, as the blonde sleeps curled up against her side, Remy fights to keep back the tears. She doesn't know how she is going to make it through the upcoming weekend without breaking down in front of her girlfriend and her daughter.

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On the other side of Princeton, Lucas is in his apartment doing some research on his laptop. A couple days ago House asked him to do some digging on the members of his team. Having finished up with Drs. Foreman, Kutner, and Taub, he is now doing some digging on Dr. Hadley.

By the way House was talking about the dark-haired woman, he figured that the other man already knew everything interesting about the young doctor and the research was merely a formality. The first things he found out was that she was paying a really high interest rate on her car and that she paid for a gym membership that she doesn't use. The gym membership he understands since she has a kid and has that disease.

However, Lucas didn't entirely buy that these were the only skeletons in Remy's closet. Since she has a daughter that her dead girlfriend conceived and gave birth to while they were still together, he decided to go deep into her past.

The scruffy P.I. found her impressive transcripts from high school and med school. He found out a lot about her parents and the dead girlfriend's parents. Things became _**really **_interesting when he hacked into her salacious personal life.

Lucas was surprised to find out that she had a major substance abuse problem after the death of her lover, when Remy was only19 years old. He was also taken aback by the circumstances surrounding the girlfriend's death. As he moves on to the last page on his screen, his eyes widen.

Closing out of the page on the screen and shutting his laptop, the P.I. decides that he will respect Dr. Hadley by not telling House about the other woman's troubled past or Alexis' father. House doesn't need to know that Olivia became pregnant, not because she cheated on Thirteen, but because she was raped.

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So, there you have it. I couldn't very well introduce that little nugget into the last chapter of _**Taking a Chance**_, could I? Also, just so you know, Lucas is the only person other than Thirteen and her dad who knows about Alex's dad…not even Cameron knows yet.

I hope you don't think that I added the truth about Alexis' dad to abruptly or it come too out of the blue. I wanted the reveal to seem organic as possible…and I also didn't want to drag it out for forever (especially since many of you, I'm sure, were dying to know).

Next chapter is going to start to include a lot of the elements from actual episodes (and it will be really long). With the exception of bringing Lucas in, this hasn't really included a lot of stuff from season five yet. The next chapter will include a lot of stuff from _Adverse Events_…two episodes before _Lucky Thirteen_. Of course, they will be altered to fit this story.

As usual, let me know what you think. I have a pretty good outline for the rest of this story, but if there is anything in particular that you want me to include, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Until next time…


	3. Rare, Happy Couples

**Spoilers!**: _Adverse Events_. This chapter, and the next, are centered around it. However, for obvious reasons, I have had to use a bit of an artistic license with the dialogue and some events.

**A/N**: A little bit of Cadley action and a bit of Alex thrown in for good measure. A lot of Thirteen stuff though. And yes, this chapter is really long. Sorry.

**A/N2**: Another little side note here. Thirteen seems to be the kind of person that won't ask for help outright. I kind of picture her as being the kind of person that needs a problem bashed over her head repeatedly before she will ask for help. I have written accordingly and, well, reality really has a way of biting a person in the ass.

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**Chapter Three- Rare, Happy Couples**

The day after Lucas' discovery of Thirteen's scandalous history, House's team had no patient to work on and he made them work his Clinic hours instead, despite Thirteen's offer to 'help' her girlfriend in the ER. He sent them down there, rather than force them into another game of _Pictionary_, so that he could go through the files of personal information on them he obtained via Lucas.

Now, it's 7:30 am Saturday morning. Remy and Allison are busy spending their day off together, the first one in a month, sleeping in. More accurately, Remy is still sleeping as Allison lays in bed watching her.

The blonde is on her back with her girlfriend laying partially on top of her. Thirteen has her head cradled in the crook of Cameron's shoulder, an arm thrown over the other woman's midsection and a leg draped over one of Allison's. The ER doctor, no matter how content she is having the brunette so close, can't seem to shake the feeling of unease developing in the pit of stomach.

Thirteen got home late again the night before, around 8:30-ish, even though the team didn't have a patient. Her excuse had something to do with a major pileup on the interstate and being needed in the ER. The fact that Allison hadn't heard anything on the news about it wasn't what bothered her the most. What bothered her was the fact that Remy didn't even call to say she was going to be late. She _**always **_calls.

As Cameron drags her fingers through the brunette's hair, she revisits her theory about the other woman cheating on her. She doesn't want to, but the thoughts come easily as she puts some of the pieces together.

For starters, Hadley seems to be at work longer and longer all the time. The younger doctor also tends to sleep away from home a lot more often as well. This is not even mentioning the fact that her girlfriend appears to have a perpetually guilty expression plastered on her face.

The blonde brushes a stray lock of hair off the other woman's face and smiles sadly. Before she can take any longer to ponder her girlfriend's odd behavior, a cell phone begins to go off. Allison quickly reaches for her phone on the nightstand to silence it before it can wake Remy up. As Thirteen groans at the intrusive noise, Cameron realizes that it isn't her phone. Much to Allison's dismay, Hadley rolls off of her to grab her cell on the other side of the bed.

"'ello?" The brunette grumbles tiredly into the phone, her head throbbing from the alcohol the night before.

"_Oh good, you're awake. Now get your ass to the hospital, we have a patient," _House instructs from his side.

"But it's m'day off," Remy points out, still half asleep.

There is a slight pause on the other end of the line. _"If you bring in pictures, and possibly videos, of you and Cameron gettin' it on, then you can stay home today," _House attempts to negotiate, the grin apparent in his tone.

Remy heaves a sigh and closes her eyes. "I'll be there in an hour," she glumly informs him, earning a frown from her girlfriend beside her.

"_But you don't live __**that **__far from the hospital. It shouldn't take you-"_

"Bye House," Hadley cuts off her boss before hanging up. "I'm sorry," she states apologetically to the blonde beside her.

"I know," Allison breathes out sadly. Thirteen leans over to kiss her girlfriend. The blonde certainly is in no position to complain when the taller woman eases back on top of her. Before the couple even manages to make it to second base, the bedroom door comes flying open.

"Hey Mom! What are we going to…" Alex trails off as she notices the compromising position the women are in. "I'll just be out in the living room," she giggles with a blush before leaving them alone.

Remy drops her head into Allison's shoulder and releases a breathy laugh. It just figures that the first real passionate moment she has with her girlfriend in almost a month is interrupted by her daughter.

Cameron smiles at the situation as well. "It's probably for the best anyways," the blonde points out, earning a strange look from the other woman. "You need to get ready for work," she elaborates, her smile fading into a more somber expression.

Hadley rolls her eyes as she moves into a sitting position. "You're right," she grumbles, not pleased about having to go in so early on her day off.

Remy rises to stand up, but before she gets the chance, a sharp tug on the back of her t-shirt sends her on the bed again. "Ah!" She cries out in shock as she falls on her back, her head landing in her girlfriend's lap.

"You still have time for breakfast," Allison grins downs mischievously.

"Not after you just assaulted me," Thirteen attempts to sound angry, but her lips curve into a subtle smile. Joking around with the blonde always seems to lift her spirits.

"You liked it," Cameron calls her bluff before leaning down to place a brief kiss on her lips. She then slides out from under the younger woman and makes her exit before Hadley can retaliate.

Thirteen smiles softly to herself. She takes a moment to savor the way she feels right this minute. Soon, she won't be able to have any more moments like these or, at the very least, she won't really be able to remember them. With a deep sigh, Remy realizes that she just depressed herself out of a good mood again. Standing up, she goes to hop in the shower.

Back in the kitchen, Allison and Alexis set to making breakfast. It would actually be more accurate to say that Allison is making breakfast while Alexis watches. The blonde smiles when she hears the shower start running. She always loves when she gets to see the more playful side of her, often, too-serious girlfriend. These rare moments have been dwindling off as of late which makes her enjoy them all the more.

"Does she _**have**_ to go to work?" The eight year old wonders with her tone bordering on whining, inadvertently breaking through the other woman's thoughts.

"You know she does Lex," Cameron replies, not liking the idea any more than the little girl.

The young brunette ponders this for a moment. "Dr. House is a jerk," she astutely points out.

The ER doctor holds back a laugh. "Yes. He is," she answers with a smile as she pours some of the pancake batter onto the pan with a ladle.

"You're making a mess," Alex unnecessarily informs the blonde as some of the batter drips down the side of the ladle and onto the kitchen counter.

Allison surveys the damage. Aside from the obvious batter on the counter, the milk is still out along with the bag of flour used for the pancake batter. "It would appear so," she agrees with a smirk, already knowing how this is going to end.

Cameron's response signals the beginning of a stare-off between the two. The kitchen is silent except for the sound of the pancakes cooking on the stove as the 30 year old doctor keeps her eyes locked with the eight year old's. A moment later, the blonde breaks the standstill by dipping the tip of her finger in the pancake batter and placing it on the girl's nose. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose.

Remy, having heard the laughter and sounds of things being knocked around, chuckles before heading to the kitchen, not knowing what to expect. She pauses in the doorway to watch the two engage in a flour war. In addition to her girlfriend and daughter being covered, there is also a significant amount on the floor and countertops…as well as the flour fog in the air.

The brunette folds her arms across her chest and clears her throat to get their attention. "What are you guys doing?" She questions, trying to sound stern.

Allison and Alexis glance at the lone charred pancake in the pan before turning their attention to their surroundings and each other. With sheepish grins, they return their gaze to the brunette. "Making breakfast," they announce at the same time.

Remy rolls her eyes, smiling despite herself. "You shouldn't have," she deadpans.

"It's the thought that counts," Allison replies, trying to keep her laughter in check. Her statement only serves to send her and Alex into another round of hysterics.

"I'm just glad that I'm not the one that has to clean this up," this sobers the other two up pretty fast as they realize the truth in the statement.

"How about a hug Mom?" Alex questions impishly as she moves her flour-covered self closer to her mom.

Allison catches on and joins in. "Yeah Rem. How about a hug before you go?" She questions with an expression similar to the eight year old's.

Remy's eyes widen comically as she moves away. "No! I have to be at work in half an hour," she protests as they begin moving closer. "Seriously, stop," she attempts to stop them before the mischievous duo envelop her in a messy group hug.

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**8:50 am**

Thirteen just barely makes it into the elevator. She breathes a sigh of relief. "Running late too?" The man to her left questions.

"A little," Remy says, smirking at the events that led her to be late. "It better be good if House called us in on our day off," she grumbles.

"Tell me about it," Kutner agrees with a yawn. The elevator dings and the pair head off to the Diagnostics Office. "Is that flour?" He then asks, noticing a blotch of white powder on the brunette's face.

"Uh, maybe," Remy responds vaguely, wiping at the place he indicated.

However, by now his attention is elsewhere. "What's with all the pictures?" He wonders, noticing all of the paintings now occupying the office.

"These were done by the patient," House answers his question. "You're half an hour late," he also points out.

Hadley glances down at her watch and frowns. "We're only twenty minutes late," she corrects.

"Same thing," their boss brushes off. Remy makes a move to argue, but then thinks better of it as she takes a seat.

"What's with the props?" Taub questions as he notes the pieces of mediocre art around the room.

"They are the work of our patient," House informs them.

"You think he's sick because he kind of sucks?" Kutner questions, earning an eye roll from Thirteen.

"Possibly acute onset visual agnosia," Foreman suggests.

Out of the corner of her eye, Remy notices House staring at her. She tries to ignore him and not squirm. "He's an artist. I'm sure it was just a drug reaction," she ventures, taking in the differences between his most recent abstract piece and the rest of his bland works.

"You're a moron," House bluntly tells her. The rest of the team gawk at him. "Why are you paying a twelve percent interest rate on your car loan?" He then asks.

Hadley's jaw drops at the mention of her car loan interest rate. "Did you run a credit check on me?" She then questions him, appalled at the idea.

"No," the older man scoffs in an exaggerated manner. "That would be illegal. That's why I had Lucas do it," he smirks at the group.

"And how could any of this be relevant to our jobs?" Remy further interrogates him.

"You never know. Brandon could have neurosyphilis and the last vial of penicillin could be at the end of a twenty-mile long two-foot high hallway," House offers up the hypothetical situation, staring pointedly at Kutner as he does so.

At this point Remy realizes that House isn't going to give them a useful response. She takes her seat and begins to fret over what else he managed to dig up on her. Thirteen knows that if her boss is looking to dig up some dirt on her, he won't have to dig too deep to find it. At this point, she can only hope that he didn't go too far because he thinks he knows all of her dirty little secrets at this point.

"We just need to run an MRI with contrast," Kutner suggests, bringing Remy back into the conversation at the mention of something work-related. "What did you get on Taub?" He then follows up. Hadley wants to throttle him.

"Nothing…but I do have some juicy info on Taub's wife," House retorts. "That's enough!" Foreman barks.

House takes a moment to scowl. "Taub and Kutner can go check Brandon's apartment for anything," he grumbles, angry at Foreman for interrupting his fun.

"Can't Lucas?" A hopeful Kutner asks.

"No. He's busy," he easily informs his underlings.

Thirteen growls slightly under her breath, seething about the prospect of the P.I. looking into her personal life. No one seems to notice.

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**12:10 pm**

Remy is on her way to meet the team to go over the MRI results and their finding at the patient's loft when she feels her pocket vibrating. After pulling out her phone, she glances at the caller I.D. before answering.

"Hey," she greets with a small smile.

"'_Hey', yourself. How's it going?" _Allison responds from her end of the phone.

Thirteen pauses and takes a deep breath. "I don't even know where to begin. The patient was skittish about having us do an MRI. I think he's hiding something," she pauses for a moment. "Oh, and House had everyone on the team investigated by his little pet P.I," she adds bitterly.

"_It's not like there's anything major that he doesn't already know about you," _Allison shrugs nonchalantly. She waits with bated breath in hopes that she is right about that.

"He even ran a credit check on me," Hadley snorts, neither confirming or denying her girlfriend's claim about her having anything to hide.

"_Is that even legal?" _Allison wonders, scrunching up her nose in thought.

"I don't know…And when has that ever stopped him anyways?" The brunette questions, glad that she was able to divert the other woman's attention away from whether or not she anything to hide.

"_True,"_ the older woman chuckles.

Thirteen stops in front of the room where the rest of the team have assembled. "Hey, I have to go. I'll see you later," she says.

"_Okay…I love you Rem," _the blonde responds with a soft smile.

"_Love you Mom," _she hears Alexis call out in the background.

"Love you too," Hadley chuckles before snapping her phone shut and entering the room.

"Isn't that cute?" House questions rhetorically in a saccharinely sweet tone before he starts to mock-gag, having heard the tail end of the conversation.

"_**Anyway**_, what have we got?" Foreman questions, wanting to get back on track.

Kutner glances at the MRI on the light box. "Nothing abnormal," he states.

"Well then Children, that just leaves us with drugs," House announces. Remy arches an eyebrow skeptically.

"Earlier you called Thirteen a moron for suggesting drugs," Taub voices what the others are thinking.

The woman in question takes the opportunity to roll her eyes. _They know my name by __**now**__. House only does it to be a smartass._ She returns her attention to the conversation to hears Foreman's suggestion of a cavernous angioma that leaked and was reabsorbed.

"Good luck getting him to consent to a test for _**that**_," Hadley scoffs. This earns her an odd look from everyone else, except Foreman. "He was uneasy about getting a simple contrast MRI," she clarifies.

House seems a little taken aback by this new information. "Is Brandon's girlfriend hot?" He questions, directing it more towards Remy than any of the others.

The brunette sighs, thinking this is a setup for another bisexual joke. "Very. And if he dies, it's good news for all of us," she snarks.

"Except for Cameron," he wags his eyebrows with a smirk.

"I don't see what his has to do with anything," Foreman interrupts the banter.

"It's simple," House replies before turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Taub questions, unsure how having a hot girlfriend is a symptom of anything.

"To tell the patient that he has a brain tumor," the older man retorts.

The Fellows share a confused glance. "I though we established that he didn't…" Kutner trails off, lost already.

Thirteen shakes her head and goes off to follow House to see what he's up to.

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As is par for the course, just when they think they have everything figured out, they realize that they don't. And for a moment there, Remy was actually looking forward to going home early today to spend some time with Allison and Alex.

Currently, she is trailing House and the rest of the team as Kutner and her boss debate over the ethics of drug testing on humans. Hadley doesn't care, she just wants to finish the damn thing. Once the group reaches the vending machines upstairs, House holds out his hand, expecting money. The brunette watches in amusement as everyone reaches in their pockets for change. She doesn't, but instead turns to the clipboard in her hands so they can get to business.

"The first drug is test number-"

"_**Booooring**_," House sing-songs. "I'm not going to remember a number. Let's call it something cool, like…Bisexadrine," he says, grinning at the other woman.

Remy lets it roll off her back so they can get back to business. "Bisexadrine is an anticoagulent. Drug two-"

"That we will refer to as Cuckoldasol," House interrupts, staring at Taub as he does so.

"Is she having an affair?" Kutner butts in as he stares wide-eyed at the shorter man.

"She has a not-so-secret bank account that's no big deal," Taub sighs, wanting the other doctor to just drop it.

"The third drug, Worldssorestkneesadil, is an autoimmune treatment with almost no side effects," Foreman butts in, trying to get the team back on track. "There are a million different ways these drugs can interact."

"Just put him on dialysis and completely flush his system. The drugs get filtered out, he gets better, and we all live happily ever after," House shrugs. "I'm sure Baby Mama here is anxious to get back home to the wife and kid," he smirks at Thirteen, who rolls her eyes without bothering to acknowledge his assertion.

"Rapid detox could lead to other complications," Taub is the first to point out, no more willing to delve into Thirteen's personal life than he is his own.

"Complications we can predict are better than the ones we can't," House rationalizes.

With a curt nod, Thirteen heads down to get the patient set up on dialysis. As if by unspoken agreement, Taub follows her. They leave Kutner to try and wheedle more information from their boss and Foreman to do…whatever it is that Foreman does.

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Remy is working on getting Brandon hooked up to the dialysis machine as Taub watches the patient with a critical eye. The brunette just _**knows**_ that the other doctor is itching to say something to Brandon about lying to Heather, his girlfriend.

"Does this mean my kidneys are failing?" Brandon suddenly asks, his attention directed at her and not the angry-looking bald guy at the end of the bed.

"No," Thirteen assures him directly. She opens her mouth to explain what they are trying to do.

"You're just worried about how you're going to explain this to Heather…you don't care what shape your kidneys are in," Taub all but sneers. Remy suspects that the short doctor is more angry at himself than at the patient.

"I just don't want her to worry," the bedridden man responds sincerely.

"You mean you don't want her to leave you," Thirteen corrects, sounding more like a question than a statement. She doesn't know why she even said it out loud because she was directing it more to herself than him.

"Look, I never lied to her about anything important-"

"Except the fact that you're an artist that can't sell any of your art," Taub butts in.

"I've sold some of my paintings in the past…but business has been kind of slow lately. The drug trials are only to tide me over until it picks back up," he reasons.

Hadley places her hand on Brandon's arm, urging him to turn his attention back to her. "Just tell Heather the truth."

Before he can respond, Taub decides to answer for the other man. "He can't tell her the truth because the lie makes her happy," he sighs before exiting the room.

Remy offers Brandon an apologetic smile before she follows the other man into the hallway. "You didn't know about the bank account, did you?" She asks rhetorically.

The shorter doctor goes to lie, but he realizes that it would be pointless…and at least she wouldn't exploit the truth like their boss would. "No. But she isn't sleeping around and she isn't spending the money so I don't think I need to do anything about it," he admits, shrugging slightly at the end.

"Not that you know of," Hadley is quick to point out.

"Rachel and I have one of those rare, happy relationships…" Taub trails off before smirking to himself. "Look who I'm telling. You know about being in a happy relationship," he muses.

"Yeah," Thirteen replies idly, not wanting to think about her and her girlfriend.

"I'm sure you and Cameron are perfectly happy and in love and you talk to each other about everything and there's no secrets between you guys. Don't get me wrong, that's great and it works for you…but Rachel and I are happy because we _**don't **_communicate," Taub informs her after backtracking so as not to undermine the other woman's relationship.

"You're relationship is so happy that you went out and fucked another woman. You're so-called happy relationship cost you your career as a plastic surgeon," Remy snaps at him. "It looks like you are using the fact that your wife is secretly hoarding all this money so that you can feel less guilty over cheating on her," she points out.

"Uh…" the other man gapes. He's never seen the other woman get this upset about anything.

Thirteen releases a sigh and massages the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry," the brunette groans. "I'm just a little stressed right now…and finding out that House has his little bloodhound digging up dirt on us all has me a little on edge. I shouldn't have taken it out on you," she sincerely apologizes, knowing that she is just deflecting her own issues on to everyone else.

Taub takes a moment to let it all sink in, knowing that there is more to the story than what the other woman just said. "What are you afraid of him finding?" He gently questions. The short doctor is in unfamiliar territory with the usually cool and indifferent brunette being somewhat open.

Remy fixes him with a weary look. "Anything," she vaguely admits.

Knowing that the moment has passed, Taub turns his attention back to the patient's room. "Why don't you go home? I'll keep an eye on Brandon tonight," he offers.

The taller of the two appears genuinely shocked at the offer. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying a little longer-"

"I'm sure. Go be with your girlfriend and your daughter. I need to do some thinking anyways," he assures her.

"Thanks Chris," she responds with a rare half smile.

"You're welcome Remy," he replies, the other woman's name easily falling from his lips. He somehow knows that the brunette's picture perfect relationship isn't what it seems. His colleague must be harboring a few skeletons in her past and, possibly, even her present. However, he isn't going to needle her about it…he's not House or Kutner.

"See you tomorrow then," she states before turning and heading towards the locker room.

Grabbing her stuff, Hadley knows that she has way too much going on to simply go straight home. As she makes her way out of the hospital and towards her car, she heaves a heavy sigh. She understands what both Brandon and Taub are going through. It's easier to tell someone else to be honest and come clean…but it's incredibly hard to do in practice.

In her case, she chose not to tell her girlfriend about her tremors starting a few months ago. This trend continued when Thirteen didn't tell Allison that she took a CAG test and has even less time than she originally thought. From there, everything snowballed into a big drunken and drugged up, depressing downward spiral.

As Remy gets into her car and heads to the nearest bar, she can't help but think: _Lies make people happy. Honesty is way too hard and causes a lot of unnecessary pain._

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Remy steps into the apartment just after 9:30 pm feeling better than she has in a while. After closing the door, she leans against it to regain her balance. Allison glances over the back of the couch with a smile so that she can greet her girlfriend.

Cameron's interest is piqued when she sees the goofy grin on the brunette's face. "What are you so happy for? Did you solve the case already?" She questions, hoping that the answer is yes so that they can spend the day together tomorrow.

"Can't I just be happy to see you?" Thirteen smirks as she sheds her coat and makes her way to the couch. She leans down and engages her girlfriend in a deep kiss.

The blonde manages to pull away. "What's gotten into you?" She questions the younger doctor breathlessly.

"I've just missed being with you," Remy whispers against her lips as she slips her hands under the hem of her girlfriend's shirt.

The blonde's eyes flutter closed at the contact and she reaches up and brings the taller woman's lips back to her own. As Thirteen's hands begin to move further up the other woman's torso, Cameron reluctantly tears herself away from the brunette's lips.

"What's wrong?" Hadley questions, her skin flushed and her breathing shallow.

Allison takes a moment to compose herself, trying to ignore the fingers still lightly tracing patterns on her skin. "Alex is sleeping in just the other room," she breathes out.

As if for the first time, Remy realizes that they are still in the living room. "Then let's go to bed," she grins mischievously, tugging the blonde up with her.

With a smile of her own, Allison eagerly follows her girlfriend back to their bedroom. Despite the sudden return of the passionate side of her girlfriend, Allison can't help but feel that there is something off about the whole situation. She pushes it to the back of her mind as she allows herself to get swept up in the moment.

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Again, sorry for the length. If I hadn't split the episode between two chapters, it would have been way too long. There's a lot from this episode that I wanted to include- a lot of 'trust' issues were brought up as well as House revealing what Lucas dug up on the team. The rest of _Adverse Events_ will be coming up…with me messing with the timeline a little.

Sorry there wasn't too much Cadley action this time. I must admit that I liked writing the breakfast scene. Don't worry, there will definitely be more coming in the next chapter.

So, I updated about three days earlier than I intended. It will probably be a little longer before the next update (hopefully by next Friday). In addition to writing chapter 23 of _**Taking the Long Way**_, I also want to finish chapter 8 of this story so I don't fall too far behind. Trust me when I say that from chapter 5 on, things are going to get really rough on everyone. Chapter 2 of _**Challenges**_ is up as well.

Don't forget to review and let me know what you think. If you like it, tell me and if you hate it, tell my why. I'm always up for a little constructive criticism. Until next time…


	4. Coming Clean?

**Spoilers!**: The rest of _Adverse Events_.

**A/N**: I know I said that I would wait to post this, but I am just excited to start posting the _Lucky Thirteen_ chapters.

**A/N2**: Sorry that this chapter is short compared to the last couple. However, if it makes you feel better, chapters five and six are both ten pages long (over 5,000 words each).

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**Chapter Four- Coming Clean?**

**6:30 am**

The early morning quiet is violently interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off. With a groan, Remy swings her arm over and smacks the button on the alarm to shut it off. She is almost positive that she didn't set it the night before. Granted, most of the previous night is a bit of a blur.

Thirteen looks down to see Allison, still naked, draped across her body with her head tucked under Remy's chin. Her lips slightly turn up at the corners as some of the previous night's events flit through her mind. She then wonders, briefly, if it was Cameron who set the alarm.

"I knew you'd forget to set it," the blonde murmurs against her girlfriend's shoulder, as if reading the other woman's thoughts, her eyes still closed.

"Thank you," Hadley replies in an equally soft voice. She doesn't want to get up because she knows that she is going to regret the action just as soon as she does it.

The brunette doesn't seem to be in any hurry to move which causes Allison to crack open an eye and glance up at the other woman. "Don't you have to go to work?" She questions unhurriedly, bringing her hand up to lightly trace random patterns on her girlfriend's stomach.

Remy's eyes flicker closed and she tries not to smile as she brings her hand up to halt the blonde's movements. "That tickles," she whispers.

"I know," Allison smirks.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Thirteen retorts.

"The sooner you get there, the sooner you can come home," Cameron reasons with a subdued tone as she watches the younger woman carefully, a frown slowly taking over her features.

Hadley groans at the mention of going in to work. "Fine…but I can't get up with you still laying on top of me," she points out. When Allison wordlessly complies, she gets concerned. "You okay?" She then questions.

"Yeah. I just don't want you to be late," the shorter woman replies, her voice still thoughtful as she refuses to make eye contact.

Remy knows that there is more to the other woman's explanation, but she decides to let it go. She is in no position to call her girlfriend a liar at this point. "Right," she instead responds before turning away from the other woman to carefully get out of bed.

Before the brunette can get out of the bed, Allison reaches out her hand and places it on her forearm. Remy turns around. "I love you," Cameron quietly states, a sad quality to her tone.

"I love you too," Hadley repeats before picking up the other woman's hand and placing a soft kiss on the knuckle before standing up and getting ready to leave. From the bed, Allison clenches her eyes shut to hold back the tears. As she was studying the other woman moments ago, all of the little things from the night before started to fall into place.

Last night Cameron pushed aside the observation that her girlfriend's eyes were dilated and glazed as well as the woman's uncharacteristically euphoric attitude. She ignored the taste of spearmint in the other woman's mouth, a taste that she has recently become overly familiar with. She barely registered a hint of something distinctly alcoholic on her breath. She didn't question the other woman's sudden need to make love to her after doing nothing for a little over a month.

Now though, in the early morning light, Allison can't ignore the bags under her girlfriend's bloodshot eyes. She notices the other woman's slow, deliberate movements and the way she winces when the light hits her eyes. She watches her girlfriend rhythmically continue to clench and unclench her jaw. Allison now knows that before Remy came home last night, she had been drinking and doing drugs, probably Ecstasy.

Thirteen comes back over and drops a light kiss on the top of Allison's head. "I'll see you tonight," she says softly. The blonde merely nods before the other woman leaves. Cameron doesn't bother holding back the tears anymore.

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**8:45 am**

Walking into the Diagnostics Office, Remy feels like shit. Her mouth is so dry that it feels like she sucked on cotton balls before coming into work. As she takes another long drink from her bottle of water, she wishes that the hospital wasn't so busy this morning so that she would have been able to pump herself full of IV fluids before coming upstairs.

Thirteen drops herself into a chair at the table and silently curses the fluorescent lighting. If the guys notice that she isn't feeling her best, they don't bring it up. As Foreman and Kutner discuss the patient's bizarre swelling, Taub's attention stays on the other woman for several long moments before House enters, reading a file in his hands. The others are mildly surprised that he is actually taking an interest in a patient.

"Brandon's face is so swollen that his tear ducts have been squeezed shut," Kutner greets House.

"The treatments we've tried have had little effect and he's tested negative for swelling-related illnesses," Foreman adds.

House looks up from his file and sets his attention on Thirteen. "You paid for a three-year gym membership, but you only went twice. Why would you do that?" He asks her, dashing their hopes that the file he was reading belonged to the patient.

"Because I have a kid," Remy answers obviously.

"Plenty of people have kids and still manage to get to the gym," House points out.

"How many of those people work for you?" She retorts, not in the mood to listen to his crap. If he had anything major on her, he would have brought it up by now.

"Can we _**please **_get back to the patient?" Taub all but begs.

"No need. I already know what it is: drugs. The swelling is from the rapid detox. We put him back on the drugs and wean him off slowly," he easily replies.

After Foreman agrees and says to give it a try, Remy sighs. She already has a feeling that today is going to be a long day.

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Thirteen is checking in on Brandon, who seems to be doing better already. His swelling has gone down and he insists that he feels great.

"Okay, I just need to listen to your heart," she informs him, moving closer to place the stethoscope against his chest. Brandon, after leaning in to inhale the scent of her shampoo, grabs her and brings her onto the bed with him.

"Let go!" Remy shouts, but his arms remained locked around her waist as she struggles. Eventually she decides that she isn't going to be able to reason with him. She punches him in the face. Hard. He lets go and she scrambles off the bed as Foreman and several nurses rush in. _A little too late._ Remy thinks wryly.

"What happened to his face?" Is all Foreman can think to ask. The brunette resists the urge to roll her eyes since he didn't notice her disheveled appearance and the blood on her fist.

"The question is: what happened to his hormones?" She instead replies. "I need an ice-pack," she mumbles to herself, shaking her hand in pain, before sparing one last glance at Brandon and the blood pouring out of his nose.

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While going through the differential on Brandon's new found hyper sexuality, House agreed with Foreman's suggestion and forced Taub to stay overnight to do the testing for it. Remy had the feeling that it was meant to prevent the other man from coming clean with his wife about cheating on her. Thirteen volunteered to stay and help him before placing a quick call to her girlfriend.

Taub brings his attention from his microscope to look at the other woman. "Not that I don't mind the company, but what are you even doing here?" He questions.

Thirteen glances up from her current task. "Does it matter?" She retorts.

"You're deflecting," he points out with mild irritation.

"You're annoying," she states mockingly.

There is a slight pause. "And you're hiding something from Dr. Cameron," the balding doctor trumps out.

Remy glares at the other man before turning her attention back to running the blood cultures. "I don't know what you're talking about," she obviously lies.

"Then why are you at the hospital instead of spending time with your daughter and your girlfriend of over a year?" Taub wonders, genuinely interested.

Knowing that she isn't going to get any work done unless she answers, Thirteen heaves a sigh and massages the bridge of her nose. She ponders the ramifications of telling him exactly what has been bothering her. "This stays between us," she states, almost sounding like an order.

"Of course," the other man confirms with a nod.

"You know I have Huntington's, right?" Remy leads in, knowing that he is aware of her diagnosis. He nods and she takes a deep breath. "A couple of months ago I started getting tremors. At first I thought House switched out the decaf again just to screw with me, but…he didn't," she admits.

"But you're only 25. There are hundreds of causes of tremors that don't necessarily-"

"A couple of days ago I ran the CAG test to see about how long I have," she cuts him off. "My numbers were in the upper 50s," she finishes, turning her attention back down to her previous work. Remy has no intention of telling him anything of her after-work activities as of late. She doesn't trust him _**that **_much.

"Have you told _**anyone**_ other than me?" Taub wonders incredulously and she offers him an icy glare in return. "Not even your father?"

"My dad never completely got over my mom's death. How am I supposed to tell him that his only child is going to die in less than ten years? The news would completely devastate him," Remy shakes her head, totally against the idea.

"Don't you think that you at least owe it to Dr. Cameron? You have been together for well over a year and who would understand better than your girlfriend…who is also a doctor?" He asks the last part rhetorically.

"Just drop it," she growls.

"You need to tell them. Allison and your father are going to need each other. Who would better help her cope than someone who has gone through the same thing? In ten years, she is going to be in the same place your dad is," Taub argues, getting frustrated.

"Shut up," Remy barks, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

"And what about Alex, you know, your _**daughter**_? You are all going to have to prepare her for what's going to eventually happen. How can you be so selfish by not telling them?" He questions her harshly.

"Like you're one to lecture me about being selfish! You fucked around on your wife behind her back and now she's buying you a car. I may be hiding something from my girlfriend, but at least I never cheated on her and I sure as shit never lied to her!" Thirteen snaps, being only partially truthful, before sliding her chair back and making her way out of the lab.

Taub just watches her leave, completely slack-jawed. As much as he knows that she has a point, he knows that he does too. With a heavy sigh, he goes back to his microscope.

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**9:00 am**

After getting a coffee from the break room upstairs, Remy heads back downstairs to check up on the patient. Stifling a yawn, she steps out of the elevator and begins to make her way to Brandon's room.

"Hey Stranger," someone from behind the brunette greets, causing her to turn around and smile weakly.

"Morning Ally," Thirteen replies.

"Where are you off to?" Allison questions, still feeling a little awkward after her revelation the previous morning.

"Just checking in on Brandon before he goes in for surgery," Hadley responds tiredly.

"Didn't he try and assault you yesterday?" She questions with a raised eyebrow.

"That would be correct," Remy confirms, wondering how the other woman found out about it so quickly.

"Good news travels fast," Cameron smirks as if she was able to read her girlfriend's mind. "How did the tests go last night?" She then asks, wondering if she'd be able to tell if the other woman was lying about having to stay overnight.

"Nothing conclusive, but House is already set on his diagnosis," Thirteen sighs.

"I'll let you get to it then," Cameron states before taking the other woman's hand in her own. She just wants her girlfriend to be able to open up to her instead sneaking around to do whatever it is she has been doing as of late.

"I'll see you tonight," Remy smiles slightly.

"Yeah," the other woman nods, trying to offer a smile of her own. She isn't sure if she's successful. Then, she turns and walks off. The brunette stands there for a moment before going to the patient's room…only to find Taub already in there.

"Why would Brandon's paintings be a topic that would require me to step out of the room?" Heather, Brandon's girlfriend, questions the two men as Remy watches from the doorway.

Brandon shoots Taub a brief, apologetic look. "Because I have only really sold two paintings in the last three years…and one of them was to a relative," he admit's the last part reluctantly.

"But you've been bringing in money," the girlfriend points out, confused.

"I have been participating in drug trials to make money and keep up appearances," he replies quietly.

"I can't believe you lied to me…for years!" Heather cries out, feeling betrayed. "What must you think of me to feel like you had to lie in the first place?"

"I liked the way you looked at me when you thought that I was successful. I don't think I could have bared to lose that," he counters awkwardly.

"When I look at you, I see _**you**_," Heather counters, a soft smile gracing her lips.

As touched as Taub is by the display, he manages to get the location of the storage unit with his stored paintings. Before she can be caught snooping, Thirteen ducks down another corridor, wondering how bad it would really be if she told Cameron about the CAG test results and the tremors.

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After the surgery went off without a hitch, Remy finds herself out in the lobby with Taub and Heather.

"Everything went well and he's going to be fine," Thirteen assures the patient's girlfriend.

Heather breathes a sigh of relief and leans back in her chair, glad that the whole ordeal is done and over with. "Good," she breathes out.

Taub looks at her for a moment. "Are you glad Brandon told you the truth?" He questions and Hadley rolls her eyes at his prying.

"Yes, of course," the other woman answers easily.

"Were you happier before you knew?" He presses and Thirteen wants to smack him.

Before she can reply, a woman behind him dangles a set of keys and Taub turns to face his wife. "I'm going to have to steal him from you," she smiles at the other two women.

Remy just nods as she watches them walk away. Deep down, she knows that Taub is going to tell his wife everything just like Brandon did with his girlfriend.

"I think I'm happier now," Heather states, answering Taub's earlier question.

Hadley turns to face her. "You don't have to-"

"I know. I'd rather be happy because I know the truth than to be happy based on a lie. It may not be what I want to hear, but the truth always has a way of coming out. It's better to hear it from the one you love than to have to find out on your own," Heather goes on to explain.

It's now official, Remy feels like shit for lying to her girlfriend. "Yeah," she uneasily agrees. Before the conversation can continue and become even more awkward for the dark-haired doctor, Chase enters into view.

"Are you with Mr. Reynolds?" The Aussie asks Heather. She nods. "You can come see him now," he informs her.

"Thank you," she smiles before turning back to the other woman. "It was nice talking to you Dr. Hadley," she says with a small smile.

"You too," Thirteen manages to get out before the other woman walks off.

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**Back Home**

"Shit," Remy curses under her breath as she watches the water in the glass in her hand sloshing back and forth. She sets the glass back down on the counter and clenches her eyes shut, her hands gripping the edge of the counter. _They keep getting worse._ She grimly muses.

"Did you say something, Sweetie?" Comes the soft voice of her girlfriend from the living room.

"Just that I practically have two kids," the brunette jokes, referring to the fact that the blonde insisted on finishing _**Ratatouille**_ despite the fact that they've seen it twenty times and she just put Alexis to bed.

"You like it," Allison replies and Remy can practically hear the smile in the other woman's voice.

The brunette takes a deep breath and wills her hands to stop shaking before she makes it back to the living room.

When she doesn't hear a reply from her girlfriend, Allison looks up to find Remy glaring at the ground with a dark, thoughtful expression on her face. She sighs at the sight of the expression that has been progressively more common in the last few months. She idly wonders if Thirteen even knows she is distancing herself from her and Alex.

Just as Allison prepares to ask if everything is okay, Remy glances up and their eyes connect. The younger of the two offers a slight smile and grabs her water before walking back into the living room. She notices the odd look on the blonde's face.

"Everything alright?" Remy asks.

_I was just going to ask you the same thing._ "Yeah," Allison returns reluctantly, unsure if maybe she just imagined the expression on the other woman's face since she seems fine now.

The brunette reclaims her spot next to her girlfriend on the couch, carefully placing the glass of water on the table. She rests her head on Allison's shoulder and drapes an arm across her waist. Cameron is at first taken back by the rare action of the other woman curling into her like this, but she wraps an arm over her girlfriend's shoulder nonetheless.

"You know if there was something wrong, you could tell me about it?" The blonde offers, trying to get the younger doctor to open up to her.

Remy thinks of Heather and Brandon before switching to Taub and his wife. _Maybe I should just tell her the truth…about everything._ She knows that if she tells her girlfriend about the tremors and CAG test, then she would also have to tell her about the drugs and alcohol.

Thirteen takes a deep breath, preparing herself to confess everything. Then, she looks up into the honest, trusting eyes of the blonde and her words catch in her throat.

"I know, Ally," Hadley smiles weakly, hating herself for chickening out. She turns her attention back to the movie. Feeling the blonde sigh against her, Remy knows that she can't lie to the other woman forever, but she can pretend for a little longer.

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_Birthmarks_ contains nothing of interest to this story, I am going to skip it and the next chapter will use _Lucky Thirteen_. Drama and angst will ensue and the plot will definitely thicken. Do you think the "happy" couple can handle it?

I am going to say that I like the idea of Thirteen and Taub being friends is because I think they have more in common in this story than they do in the show. But, on the show, I think they have some pretty funny interactions.

Also, I know it's frustrating with Thirteen not opening up and Cameron not pushing her. The thing is, Cameron doesn't seem like she'd push her in the first place. I mean, she still doesn't know about Alex's father. Cameron wants Thirteen to tell her when she's ready because she knows that the other woman is coming close to a breaking point. Hell, Thirteen almost told her at this end of this chapter. Perhaps, she just needs a little outside help to push her into confessing to her girlfriend…if Cameron doesn't find out some other way. It's no coincidence that _Lucky Thirteen_ is next.

Quick poll: I am considering writing holiday-themed stories to kind of follow _**Ringing in the New Year**_ (Cadley of course). Does it sound like a good idea? The next one would be for Valentine's Day. You can let me know in a PM or, if you really love me, a review ;)

The next update will be at the same time as _**Taking the Long Way**_ later this week.


	5. Into the Open or The Shit Hits the Fan

**Spoilers!**: _Lucky Thirteen_. A lot of the medical stuff will be the same, but I am going to, obviously, change just about everything else.

**A/N**: Remember that I had it so that Wilson came back before this story even started to take place. Don't worry that I changed some of the scenes and timeline around. _Lucky Thirteen_ is going to take three chapters to get through it.

**A/N2**: This chapter is certainly going to be interesting. If you thought I liked to torture Thirteen before, just wait…

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**Chapter Five- Into the Open **(or **The Shit Hits the Fan**)

**Two Weeks Later, 7:00 pm**

As Thirteen pulls her jacket and bag out of her locker. She feels slightly less guilty about not going straight home tonight. Alex is in New Haven with her grandparents and Allison got stuck pulling overnight ER shifts for the next two nights. So, Remy can pretty much stay out as long as she likes and not have to worry about sneaking in and sucking down mints before walking through the door.

With all of this in mind, Remy exits the locker room and heads towards the ER to say goodnight to her girlfriend. She makes her way into the ER and quickly spots the blonde entering her office. Following close behind, Thirteen knocks on the door only moments after it's shut before opening it and entering before she can get a reply.

Allison looks up at the intruder before a smile settles onto her face. "Hey," she greets, pleasantly surprised to see the other woman. "You heading out?" She asks obviously, noting the jacket and bag.

"Yeah. I just wanted to see you before I left," the brunette smiles, softly closing the door behind her and approaching the other woman, who is still standing in front of the desk because she hasn't had a chance to sit down yet.

"I'm glad," Cameron replies as her girlfriend comes to a stop in front of her. She drops her gaze to the taller woman's stomach before hooking her index fingers under the straps of her girlfriend's suspenders. "I've missed you these last few weeks. These last few months, actually," she confesses the last part more quietly, running her fingers slowly up and down the suspenders.

Remy, a bit taken back by the vulnerability in the other woman, reaches down and covers Allison's hands with her own, ceasing the motions. The blonde brings her gaze back up to the younger doctor's face.

Thirteen leans down and captures the shorter woman's lips as she drops her hands from Cameron's to rest them on her hips and draw her closer. Allison wastes no time responding as she cups the back of her girlfriend's neck to keep her near and deepen the kiss while her other hand runs through the brunette's thick hair.

Moaning into the kiss, Remy pushes forward until the ER doctor runs out of room and has to sit on the end of her desk, their kiss never breaking. Removing her hands from the standing woman's neck, Cameron slides them down to remove her girlfriend's jacket and then to unclip her suspenders. She carelessly chucks them aside. At the gesture, Hadley mumbles an indignant 'hey', causing Allison to giggle slightly.

By now their actions have become more frantic and Remy is desperately trying to undo the button on the shorter woman's pants. "You choose _**tonight**_ not to wear your scrubs?" She pants breathlessly as she breaks away from the other woman's lips.

"Had I known we would be about to have sex on my desk, I wouldn't even have worn underwear," Allison replies with a smirk as she watches the adorably frustrated expression on the brunette's face begin to reach epic proportions. Taking pity on her girlfriend, Cameron pushes her hands away and unbuttons her pants herself, much to the other woman's relief.

However, before Thirteen can get the chance to pull down the zipper, there is a knock at the door. "Go away!" The brunette barks irritably as Cameron's head drops down into the crook of Remy's neck to stifle her giggles.

"Dr. Cameron?" The person on the other side of the door questions, not recognizing the voice as belonging to her boss.

"I'm doing paperwork. Can it wait?" Allison explains from her position between the desk and her girlfriend.

"Uh…There was a seven car pile-up on the Turnpike," Tracy informs her uncertainly from the other side of the door, confused as to why the blonde wouldn't let her in to talk face-to-face.

"I'll be out in a minute," Cameron tells the nurse. "I'm sorry," she apologizes to Thirteen as she runs her fingers through the other woman's hair.

"I know," Remy sighs as she removes herself from the slightly older doctor. She carefully re-buttons her girlfriend's pants and combs her fingers through her blonde hair so it doesn't look like she had just been making out in her office.

Allison smiles at the other woman's thoughtfulness before leaning in for one last, brief kiss. "We have the apartment to ourselves for the rest of the week before Alex gets home. I'll make it up to you," she promises.

"You better," Remy replies, trying to maintain a stern expression but she fails as a smile manages to work its way through. She brings her hand up to the shorter woman's face and wipes her thumb under bottom lip. "Your lip gloss is a little smudged," she smirks.

"I wonder how that could have happened?" Allison jokes.

Remy takes one last look at the other woman before sighing to herself. "Let me get going so you can get to work," she says regretfully.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Cameron says and Thirteen nods. "Be careful," she adds, not sure what even compelled her to do so.

The brunette gives her an odd look at the last statement. "Okay," she replies before exiting the office with the blonde right behind her.

For some reason, Allison can't seem to shake the sense of foreboding gripping on to her as she watches the other woman walk away. The sounds of doctors and nurses scrambling to attend to the patients being wheeled into the ER pulls her out of her thoughts as she turns to go do her job.

Once out into the night air, Remy takes a deep breath and tries to decide what to do. She misses that spontaneity she had with Allison up until a few months ago, something she realizes is mostly her own fault. Just when she was getting a taste of how things used to be, reality set in.

Still being a little worked up from her encounter with her girlfriend, the fleeting thought of simply going home tonight is quickly thrown out the window. Hadley decides to go ahead with her earlier plans of checking out a new nightclub a few blocks from the apartment. She figures that she'll just work off all of her pent up sexual frustration by having a few drinks and doing a little dancing.

As she steps into the car, she can't seem to shake the feeling that she is being followed.

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**9:30 pm**

_Ozone_ is a lot cooler than Remy thought it would be. Despite the fact that she still has the nagging sensation of someone watching her, she has plied herself with enough alcohol that she no longer cares. The knowledge that no one is at home waiting for her also allows her to set her mind at ease since nobody is any the wiser about her activities.

Taking a break from the dance floor, Thirteen slides onto a vacant barstool at the well-stocked bar. Moments later, a slightly shorter brunette approaches her.

"Is this seat taken?" The other woman tentatively asks, indicating the seat beside her.

Remy briefly glances around to see that there are plenty of vacant seats, so the other brunette must have a reason to sit by her. "No," she answers simply, trying to read the other woman's behavior. She knows that, maybe in another life, she probably would have tried to pick this woman up.

The stranger merely takes the seat and orders from the bartender, occasionally shooting glances out of the corner of her eye towards the young doctor. It doesn't take long for the two women to strike up an awkward conversation. A few drinks later and they discreetly pop a hit of Ecstasy and hit the dance floor.

In the back of her mind, as Remy is dancing closely with the shorter woman, she knows that taking the pills combined with her earlier sexual frustration was a bad idea. Somehow, she doesn't care as she continues to work up a sweat.

"Let's go to my place," the other woman shouts out so that she can be heard over the music. Remy nods and allows herself to be pulled out of the club.

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**2:30 am**

_You are not a bad person. You are not a bad person. You are not a bad person._ Hadley repeats to herself in the other woman's bathroom. Somehow she managed to keep her sexual urges under control despite the shorter woman's advances. Yet, she still feels a little dirty over the fact that she went home with her at all. A short while ago, the other woman, who's name Remy still doesn't know, happened to pass out on the couch.

As Remy continues to try and convince herself that she is still a good person, she hears a loud crash from the living room. "What are you doing?!" She calls out as she heads towards the other room, only to find the brunette seizing in the middle of the floor.

Quickly, Hadley rushes over to the woman and keeps her head to the side to prevent her from choking on her tongue or, if she throws up, from choking on her own vomit. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell phone to dial 9-1-1.

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**3:10 am**

Allison, having just finished filling out a patient's chart, stifles a yawn as she heads to the Nurse's Station to drop it off. As she does so, she is alerted to the sound of an ambulance approaching the ambulance bay doors. Being in the vicinity, she rushes over to help with the incoming patient.

When the doors open, she doesn't hesitate to question the first EMT through the door. "What have we got, Gary?" She asks.

"26 year-old female suffering from a tonic clonic seizure," Gary explains easily as he and the other EMT wheel the woman out of the ambulance.

"Duration of the seizure?" She then wonders as she looks at the EMT.

"About three minutes," Thirteen sheepishly pipes up, trying to swallow back the lump in her throat at her shitty luck of getting her girlfriend to be the doctor to arrive.

"Does your _**friend**_ have a history of epilepsy?" Allison then asks her, beginning to feel that same sense of dread from earlier rising in her throat…or maybe it's the bile instead.

"She never said," Thirteen continues as she follows her girlfriend and the patient.

Cameron's eyes narrow before turning her attention to the barely conscious woman. "My name is Dr. Cameron and you are in a hospital," she informs her unnecessarily. "What's her name?" She redirects to Thirteen.

"I don't know," Remy confesses, unable to make eye contact with the blonde.

"Run a tox screen and hook her up to an IV," Allison orders a nurse. "You. My office. Now," she barks at her girlfriend before turning on her heel and stalking off, knowing the younger doctor will follow.

Once the door is shut, Thirteen immediately opens her mouth. "I can-"

"What the _**fuck**_ is going on Remy?!" Cameron snaps before her girlfriend can finish her sentence.

"It's not what you think," Hadley immediately tries to defend herself. The blonde doesn't look impressed. "She…I…we…Nothing happened. I promise," she finally settles on.

"Well, I'm sorry if your 'promise' doesn't mean shit right now," Allison retorts heatedly.

"I'm sorry I screwed up, but we just talked and she passed out. I was going to leave, but then she had a seizure and-"

"Why were you even over there? Where did you go after leaving the hospital last night?"

Thirteen realizes that she can't lie to her any longer. "I was at a club," she admits. "I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry again," Allison warns, cutting her off. "I want you to take a drug test," she states, trying not to completely lose her composure.

"What?" Remy asks, not able to believe that the other woman would ask that of her.

"You heard me. That other woman obviously has more than just alcohol in her system. I want to know if you were doing drugs too," she explains herself.

"That has nothing to do with her. I'm not taking a drug test," Hadley vehemently declines.

"You would only refuse if you had something to hide," Allison astutely points out.

With all of the drugs and alcohol from the night finally catching up with her, Remy begins to feel lightheaded. "I can't deal with this right now," she softly says, running her fingers through her hair.

Feeling the anger and sense of betrayal welling up inside of her, Allison breaks eye contact. "Go home. I don't even want to look at you right now," she growls out.

Taken back by the comment and tone, Thirteen nods slightly before turning and quietly leaving the office.

Once the door closes, Allison hits her desk several times with her fists before dropping her head into her hands. "Fuck," she whispers to herself through the tears.

_I __**knew**__ she was taking something a couple of weeks ago. If I had actually said something then maybe this wouldn't have happened. But no, I wanted to wait for her to come to me first. I'm so stupid._ She berates herself, the tears now falling freely.

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**8:30 am**

"I have a case you might be interested in," Allison informs House first thing when he walks into the hospital the next morning.

"I highly doubt that," House snorts as he makes his way to the elevator.

"26 year old woman who had a tonic clonic seizure and suffers from fatigue. She also had a retinal vein occlusion two years ago," Cameron goes on as if he didn't already dismiss her.

"Diabetes," House replies immediately.

"Tests came back negative," the blonde informs him just as quickly as she shoves the file in his hands.

"It says here that she had Ecstasy in her system, that's what caused the seizure." he brushes it off.

"It couldn't have caused it because she took it five hours before the seizure according to Remy," she reluctantly informs him. She knows that, despite her need to lash out at the brunette right now, handing the case over to her girlfriend's boss is beyond revenge.

"Why does Thirteen know about it?" House question, wondering if she already gave his team the file without his confirmation.

"Apparently she was with the patient when it happened," she grits out, not liking that she has to say it out loud.

"At three in the morning?" House wonders aloud. "Please tell me that all of you had a threesome," he grins, his eyes glazing over at the images flashing through his mind. Allison just sighs and walks away.

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"Did you and Cameron break up and I just didn't hear about it or are you simply cheating on her?" House questions Thirteen with a grin as the team is sitting around the table in the Diagnostics Office. She remains silent. "I have been waiting for you to fall apart since you got your Huntington's diagnosis, but this is more than I could have hoped for," he continues.

"The patient is just suffering from dehydration due to the alcohol and Ecstasy from last night," Remy is quick to explain, not wanting to discuss her personal life.

"Ecstasy?" Kutner pipes up, the mention of the drug drawing him out of his fantasies of his coworker and the patient.

"Were you doing drugs too?" Foreman asks from the other side of the room, concern evident in his tone.

"Not diagnostically relevant," Hadley growls, casting an irritated glare at the other man.

Taub, for the other woman's benefit, attempts to continue with the differential. "The file says that Spencer suffered from a retinal vein occlusion two years ago," he points out.

"Irrelevant. The doctor said that it was a venous anomaly," Remy corrects, wanting to get this case as far away from her as possible so that she can begin to repair her relationship with her girlfriend.

"If the eye problem was a direct result from something being wrong with her blood, then it could explain her fatigue," Foreman adds.

"She parties until 3 am. _**That's**_ why she's always tired," Remy retorts.

"And yet you seem fine," House reenters the conversation.

Thirteen patently ignores him. "She has been to four doctors in the last year and they all say that nothing is wrong with her. She is a hypocondriac who drinks too much," she counters, closing the file and pushing it away from her.

"Blood clots could explain the symptoms," Kutner continues, not paying her any mind. He is just enjoying the drama unfolding around him.

"He has a point," Taub agrees. Upon seeing the brunette shoot him a glare, he mouths a sincere 'sorry' to her.

House nods in acceptance. "Thirteen, suck out some bone marrow from your _**girlfriend's **_hip," he orders her.

"Shut up House," Remy snaps, rising up to do what he asked her to anyways. She stands up and makes her way to the door, only to have him follow her. "What now?" She questions warily.

"I like to watch," he smirks. Hadley rolls her eyes but continues walking, knowing there is no way to get out of this.

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Allison, obviously, has a lot of residual anger left over from early this morning when her girlfriend showed up in the ER with a strange woman. By now, however, it has been somewhat diminished into a mixture of hurt, betrayal, and concern.

At this point, she isn't sure what to make of Remy's behavior as of late. She so desperately wants to believe that her girlfriend didn't cheat on her, but she doesn't know if she can. Thirteen came in at 3:00 am drunk, high, and confused…so she can be forgiven for not taking the brunette at her word.

The past few months, Allison has felt the secrets and lies building a wall between them as a couple. Remy "working" late nights and, sometimes, not coming home at all has really taken its toll on her. Now, with the younger woman sinking back into bad habits, she is worried. With a heavy sigh, she picks up the phone and dials a familiar number.

A few rings later, the other line picks up. "Hello?" The man greets.

"Mr. Hadley, it's Allison," the blonde replies, already blinking back tears.

"Ally, what's wrong? Did something happen to Remy?" Robert immediately jumps in, knowing that his daughter would be the one to call if there was a problem with Alexis.

At the mention of her girlfriend, Cameron covers her mouth and releases a stifled sob. "I don't know what to do. I'm so scared for her, but she won't talk to me. After last night, I just don't even know," she rambles on, gaining a small amount of relief over just being able to vent to someone who actually knows her girlfriend better than she does.

"Calm down and just tell me what happened," he attempts to soothe her, feeling a familiar sense of foreboding as the blonde launches into her explanation.

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**9:10 am**

As they enter the room to perform the biopsy, Remy turns to her boss. "I can do this without you. I don't need you to supervise," she informs him, hoping that he gets the hint and leaves.

"The two of you were already alone and we all know how well _**that **_turned out. I'm just here to chaperone," House replies, leering at the woman on the table. "However, if you two become overwhelmed with the sudden urge to take off your clothes and get busy, I won't object," he is quick to add.

Irritably, Hadley begins to prepare the other woman's hip for the biopsy. "This is Dr. House. Ignore him. He mistakes immaturity for edginess," she informs the patient, more for something to cut the awkwardness than to be of any actual use.

"_**You're **_Dr. House?" Spencer asks, glancing back at the man in question.

"I assume my name came up in the form of a moan," House smirks at the young doctor and, not surprisingly, Remy answers with a dirty look. He turns his attention to the patient. "Did you know that she already has a girlfriend?"

This shocks the patient as she glances up at the deer-in-the-headlights look of the other woman. "No, I didn't," Spencer tells him, a little hurt by the fact that the other woman didn't try and brush her off the night before in light of this new information,

"Oh yeah. They've been together for…how long has it been now Thirteen?" He redirects towards the other brunette, loving that he now has a whole new set of buttons to push on this particular employee of his.

"A little over a year," Hadley grinds out, preparing the needle.

"I think it's been about a year and four months…almost a year and a half," her boss corrects with a smirk, watching both women become increasingly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm sure she at least told you about Alexis, her daughter," he nonchalantly says.

"House!" Remy barks at him.

"She's adorable, turned eight a couple months ago. Dr. Cameron…Thirteen's girlfriend, showed just about everyone pictures from the party," he pretends to reminisce.

"You have a daughter too?" Spencer finally manages to ask the woman beside her. Instead of answering, Remy looks up and nods slightly. "Then why the hell were you at the club doing body shots-"

"Stop talking," the young doctor grunts out as she inserts the long needle into the prone woman's hip.

"Ow!" Spencer gasps out.

"Body shots? I thought you'd have more shame than that," House comments as Remy pulls out the needle and removes it from the end of the syringe. She pushes the sample into his hands and stalks off. "Take this to the lab," he calls over to her before she gets to the door.

"Why don't you _**run **_it over there yourself?" She snarks without even looking back at him.

House glances down at his leg before glaring at the back of her head. "Very funny," he responds. "It must be her time of the month," is all he says to Spencer, who doesn't look at all impressed.

Once outside of the room, Remy runs a shaky hand through her hair before glancing at her watch. With a sigh she realizes that Cameron's shift ended twenty minutes ago.

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**6:45 pm**

After having to, grudgingly, admit that Spencer had a legitimate medical problem, Remy's day only continued to get worse. She left her girlfriend well over ten messages on her cell phone with topics ranging from desperate apologies to angered questioning over why Allison would even give the case to House in the first place. None of the calls were returned.

Now, with the prospect of being able to speak to her girlfriend face-to-face, Hadley finds herself running out the door to avoid the other woman before Allison arrives for her night shift. After getting in her car and escaping the parking lot without being spotted, she is faced with the question of where she is going to go.

Pulling up to a stop light, her attention is drawn to the violent shaking in her hands. Clenching her eyes tightly shut, she fights the urge to stop at any of the shitty bars she passes on the way home. She knows that she is in deep enough trouble with her girlfriend as it is.

_But she's at work. Allison will never know if you head out to another club tonight._ The nagging voice in the back of her mind reminds her. Deciding to compromise between the part of her saying that she needs a drink and the part saying not to risk hitting the bars, she pulls into a liquor store on the way home. She can just wallow in her misery alone tonight, clean up the evidence before going to work, and her girlfriend will be none the wiser when she finally gets home tomorrow morning.

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**11:15 pm**

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Allison found out that Remy had left before she even got there. At the realization that the brunette was avoiding her, she couldn't help but feel guilty for not returning any of the other woman's calls.

With the ER having a slow night, Allison made the decision to simply leave early and try and mend things with her girlfriend. If there is an emergency, they can always call her.

Allison is now in her car making the drive from the hospital back to the apartment, replaying her earlier conversation with Robert on her way. She is still a little surprised that he took her side rather than his own daughter's. He insisted that, as much as he loves his daughter, she has a major self-destructive streak.

What shocked Cameron more than him taking her side was that he almost seemed unsurprised that she slipped back into her old habits under everyone else's radar. Robert said that Remy internalizes a lot of her problems because she doesn't want to burden anyone else with them. He said that something must have happened and, like with what happened to Olivia, the pressure became too much and she just regressed into old habits.

He doesn't think his daughter will be so stupid as to make the same mistake as last night by partying at some club. Robert's suggestion was to confront Remy and get her to confess what the problem is because it can't be any worse than the situation she got herself into the night before.

Cameron is heeding his advice and is going to confront her girlfriend tonight. The older man also told her that, if Thirteen continues acting out, she should break up with her. He would support that decision 100 percent. As Allison pulls up to the apartment complex, she spots her girlfriend's Jeep and smiles. _I don't think that I have to worry about Plan B_.

Earlier, Allison decided to forgo the option of calling her girlfriend, wanting to surprise her instead. She steps out of the elevator and practically bounces to the door and opens it.

"Hey Rem, I think we really need to talk," the blonde greets as soon as she steps into the apartment. When she gets no answer, she glances around and spots a pair of feet hanging off the end of the couch.

Allison approaches with a fond smile as she draws nearer, thinking the other woman simply fell asleep. However, when she gets closer she notices an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels sitting on the coffee table. Seeing her girlfriend sprawled out on the couch, she realizes that Remy didn't fall asleep…she passed out.

Retreating quickly, Cameron covers her mouth with the back of her hand to bite back a sob. Looking around, she spots one of Alexis' notebooks for school. She tears out a page and writes out a brief note, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her tears.

Back into the hallway outside of the apartment, Allison leans against the door. Obviously she is in no shape to go back to the ER so she pulls out her cell phone and dials.

"Allison?" The confused voice on the other end questions, having checked the caller I.D.

"Mr. Hadley…Robert. Can I stay at your house tonight?" The ER doctor nearly pleads, her voice quivering as she struggles to get the words out.

"Of course Sweetie," he answers softly, having an idea that his daughter is to blame.

"Thank you," the blonde whispers brokenly before hanging up. As she makes her way to her car, she can't help but think: _So this is what it feels like to have your heart broken?_

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**4:10 am**

Remy wakes up from her awkward position on the couch by a neck cramp. The state of being conscious results in her leaning over to take another shot of her whiskey. Instead of hitting the bottle, her hand lands on a sheet of paper on the table. Bringing the paper up and squinting her eyes so that she can read the tear-smudged words, her face falls completely.

"_**R,**_

_**I love you, but I can't do this anymore. It hurts too much to see you like this. We're over.**_

_**- A"**_

The note falls to the floor and Remy blinks back tears. As she gulps back the rest of the bottle, she can't help but think: _So this is what it feels like to have your heart broken?_

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Whew! This chapter sure was fun to write. I love that I took 13 chapters in _**Taking a Chance**_ to bring these two together and only five to tear them apart in this story. At least she didn't cheat...there's always that.

Also, I know I said that it would be closer until Friday before updating, but I just finished chapter eight and another chapter of _**Taking the Long Way**_. You should check it out if you haven't already. Sorry for making it sound like I'm pimping my own stories.

I know that I definitely didn't make any new friends with this chapter and…I'm okay with that because this all fits into my master plan (look at me sounding like a villain). I firmly believe that things have to get worse before they get better…and they _**will**_ get worse…and what about Alexis?

Personally, I hate stories where someone screws up and they are either forgiven too quickly/easily or they get back together to quickly/easily. It's unrealistic and, quite frankly, it sucks…unless you are going for fluff. Obviously, if you made it this far into the story, you aren't here for the fluff.

Enough off my ranting. Review and tell me how much you hate me right now and again, sorry about the length, it couldn't be helped.


	6. From Bad to Worse

_**Spoilers!**__: More __Lucky Thirteen_ goodness.

**A/N**: Once again, sorry it is so long. The next chapter will conclude the _Lucky Thirteen_ arc (finally). I didn't realize how much crap I could add to this episode for some Cadley drama.

**A/N2**: Also, I am totally busted on the 'suspenders' front. I was never really into them but whenever I see Thirteen wearing them I totally turn into a dribbling mess. lol

**A/N3**: The 'breakup note' is going to acquire a whole new level of significance this chapter. As a matter of fact, this whole chapter is a pretty emotional mess. You'll see…

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**Chapter Six- From Bad to Worse**

**8:40 am **

Remy, unable to crawl off the couch in order to be at work by 8:00, found herself slinking into the clinic and into an exam room just after 8:30. She figured that she was already half an hour late, so why not give herself IV fluids and make being late worth her while.

As tempted as she was to call out for the day, the brunette knows that it isn't fair to Spencer or the rest of the team. All she really wants to do is curl up in her bed and stay there until she dies.

Thinking back to last night, Thirteen realizes that she never even heard anyone come into the apartment. She could just kick herself for getting drunk again considering that she was on thin enough ice with her girlfriend. Even now, she doesn't know where Allison could have gone. As far as she can tell, the blonde isn't at the hospital and she obviously didn't stay at the apartment last night.

Before Hadley can ponder the whereabouts of the other woman, she hears the exam room door jiggling. "Exam in progress. Fifteen minutes!" She calls out desperately as she sits up and holds the IV line in her arm. A key is inserted into the lock and the door opens to reveal Dr. Cuddy. Remy has a deer-in-the-headlights look planted on her face because she knows that she is busted.

"My office. Now!" The dean of medicine barks at the younger woman before disappearing to let her remove the IV and get composed.

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Remy knocks cautiously on the dean's door. "Come in!" The other woman's voice calls from the other side.

Thirteen enters just as Cuddy hangs up the phone. "I can explain…" she trails off, trying to figure out exactly how she can explain.

"You don't have to. I can tell just by looking at you that you are hung over and probably still coming down from whatever drugs you took the other day," Cuddy interrupts with poorly concealed rage.

"I'm sorry," Remy mumbles, finding that she has done a lot of apologizing in the last couple of days before another thought strikes her. "How did you know I was-"

"You don't think something as major as one of my doctors showing up in the middle of the night drunk and high with a strange woman would get my attention?" The older woman asks rhetorically. "And what about Dr. Cameron?" She then questions, this time expecting an answer.

Hadley bites her lower lip and looks down at her shoes, knowing exactly why her boss' boss was asking about the ER doctor. "She broke up with me last night," she quietly replies.

Cuddy rubs the bridge of her nose tiredly, not wanting to get any further involved with the young doctor's personal life. Before she has the chance to continue, the door opens to reveal House.

"I found Dr. Hadley in one of the exam rooms pumping herself full of IV fluids," she informs him immediately.

"You could have at least let her finish. She looks terrible," House counters as he looks over at the younger woman's face, trying to ignore the weak glare she shoots him.

"I want her to take a drug test," Cuddy states calmly.

This gets Remy's attention. "No," she replies, knowing that that would be a very bad career move at this point. "You can't make me take a drug test," she further states upon seeing the raised eyebrow on the other woman's face.

"No, but I can suspend you until you comply," Cuddy retorts.

"So what if she left during a routine procedure? I am not going to let you punish her for something she did in her free time. I won't let you make any of my Fellows punch a clock or pee in a cup," House barks out at his boss. "Let's go," he orders Thirteen.

Throwing a confused look towards Cuddy, Remy grabs her jacket off the back of the chair and follows him out the door. "Thanks for-"

"The surgery you left in the middle of yesterday was _**not**_ routine and you missed a differential this morning. You're fired," House interrupts her before she can finish thanking him.

"What?" Hadley breathes out, not believing that she is really getting fired. "You just defended me in there," she points out.

"I just saved you from taking a career-ending drug test. The hospital isn't big enough for two doctors with a drug problem," he informs her as he downs a couple of Vicodin to drive his point home.

"I don't have a drug problem," the brunette asserts.

"A slutty party-girl is fun until she pukes on your shoes…then she's just a pain in the ass," he retorts before turning and leaving a stunned Thirteen standing in the middle of the hall.

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House limps into the cafeteria and drops down next to Lucas. "Why didn't you tell me that Thirteen was going out and partying after work?" He questions the P.I. with no preamble whatsoever.

"You asked me to look into their past, not their present," Lucas honestly replies with a shrug.

The older man fixes him with a penetrating stare. "What else aren't you telling me about her?" He asks, sensing the other guy is holding something back in respect to his recently fired employee.

At this, Lucas begins to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "She's never had any speeding tickets or overdue library books, but I didn't think you'd be too interested in that," he evades.

"Thirteen is also a twenty-five year old with an eight year old daughter. While that, in and of itself, is nothing to get too wound up about, she also managed to get through med school and specialize in internal medicine by the age of twenty-four. There's a story there," House analyzes the situation, convinced that the P.I. has been holding out on him.

"Why do you suddenly want to know? Did something happen to her?"

At the question, House glances at the other man suspiciously. "I just fired her. She was drinking, doing drugs and sneaking around behind Cameron's back," he explains himself.

"Sounds like she just fell back into old habits," Lucas replies, his eyes going wide as he realizes that he was caught in a lie.

"So you _**did **_dig up some dirt on her. Spill," House orders gleefully.

"No way," Lucas tries to beg off.

"Come on. I already fired her so what harm could it do?" The doctor shrugs innocently.

"You could tell Dr. Hadley's girlfriend and damage their relationship," the P.I. is quick to mention.

"I overheard Thirteen tell Cuddy that Cameron dumped her last night. Besides, Cameron probably already knows this stuff anyways," House tries to reason, but the other man doesn't look convinced. "I'll give you two grand right now if you give me the information."

Lucas closes his eyes for a moment before sighing and reaching into his bag to pull out his laptop. "Okay, but this stays between us," he relents.

"Okay," House nods with a grin.

"I mean it, House," Lucas sternly replies.

Caught off guard by the other man's tone, he can't help but agree. "Between us, got it," he mumbles.

Satisfied, Lucas opens the laptop and begins to pull up the files. "It should only take a minute to bring all the files up," he quietly says.

"I'll get copies right?" House thinks to question, earning him a glare from the other man. "What? For two grand I should get copies," he points out.

"Fine," the P.I. agrees before he brings up the relevant files and begins to show them to the over-eager doctor.

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Foreman enters an X-ray room in search of Thirteen. "What are you doing?" He asks her once she looks up to acknowledge him.

"Looking for my ticket back," Remy replies as she scans Spencer's chest X-rays. "What did I miss?" She asks him.

"Spencer's lungs stopped working, but they were fine on the X-ray. Kutner seems to think that it must be a problem with her airway, so we stuck her on a treadmill to see if we can create the reaction again."

"Does this area of the lung look a little dark to you?" Remy questions him as she points to a particularly dark patch on the X-ray.

"It's probably just overexposed," Foreman shrugs off. "I also think that you've been acting like an idiot."

This statement causes her to look up at him for the first time since he entered the room. "I know," she admits.

"I'm not just talking about with the drugs and whatever you were doing with Spencer. I'm talking about with Cameron," he clarifies himself.

Remy bites her lower lip. "Nothing happened with Spencer…and it doesn't even matter because Allison and I broke up last night," she informs him, trying to pretend that it doesn't hurt.

"I'm sorry," Foreman apologizes, not having known that. "Last night she told me that she wanted to make things work out between the two of you…I guess it didn't go as planned," he muses quietly.

Hadley blinks back tears. "I guess not," she replies as she tries to discreetly wipe her eyes on the back of her sleeve. "If these dark spots are lung cysts, then they wouldn't show up on the X-ray and the treadmill test will make them explode," she realizes as she glances at the other man before they both run out of the room to find Spencer.

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**1:30 pm**

Remy is sitting on a bench in the locker room. After coming in just in time to save Spencer, she is still ending the day without her job and without her girlfriend. Taking a moment to gather up her courage, she pulls out her cell phone. She punches in the number and takes a deep breath, knowing that she can't put this call off forever.

"_Rem?" _The person on the other end answers with confusion.

"Hey Dad," the brunette greets him, trying to keep her voice steady as she does so.

"_Is everything okay?" _Robert questions, playing dumb. There is a long pause on Remy's end. _"You never call while you're at work unless you need someone to watch Alex and, well…She's in Connecticut," _he elaborates.

At the mention of her daughter, Thirteen releases a sob. "I fucked up, Dad. I fucked up really bad," she finally says into the phone.

"_What happened?" _He questions once again.

"I…" Remy trails off as she notices something off about the way her voice echoes back to her when she speaks. "Why am I on speaker phone?" She wonders, more to put off the inevitable conversation.

"_Because I was working on an article when I picked up. Quit stalling," _he replies almost immediately, sharing a glance with Allison, who is in the room with him, both listening in.

The young doctor takes a deep breath. "Allison broke up with me and…" she breaks off, knowing that, if the first part didn't upset him, the second part of her confession will.

"_There's an '__**and**__'?" _Robert asks her incredulously. He glances at the other woman in the room with him and she merely shrugs, not sure what else Remy has to say.

"I got fired today," she admits, waiting for the explosion.

"_You what?!" _Her father bellows. _"How did you manage to lose both your girlfriend __**and **__your job in the same day?" _He wonders, anger welling up inside.

Thirteen decides to just bite the bullet. "I started drinking and partying again. This woman had a seizure in her apartment and we ended up going to the hospital when Ally was on duty," she quietly informs him, closing her eyes.

"_And you got fired for showing up at work hung over, right?" _Robert questions, his tone inscrutable.

"Yes," she confesses. "I'm sorr-"

"_Don't. We agreed that you would come to me if you had a problem. We agreed that you would call if you __**ever **__felt like you were getting to the point where you needed to do this shit again!" _Robert shouts as he grabs his phone, turns it off of speaker phone and places it to his ear so that Allison can no longer hear both sides of the conversation.

"I know what I said, but I never thought it would be so hard," Remy sighs, knowing that he is 100 percent right.

"_And Alexis?" _He then questions vaguely and quietly, his voice holding a threatening timbre to it.

Hadley's eyes widen in realization. "No!" She cries out. "Dad, don't do this. You know it was a stupid mistake and I won't do it again," is her desperate plea.

"_Last time this happened, you said it would never happen again. I forgave you for that one time because you had just found out about your Huntington's. I can't let you get away with it again…especially since it sounds like you've been doing this for a while," _he responds to her pleas, even though it pains him to do so.

"So you're just going to take Alexis away from me? She's my daughter, Dad!" Remy barks into the phone.

"_I know, Sweetheart, but you told me that you didn't want her to see you like this and we agreed to let either the Harrisons or me take custody," _Robert reasons, still wanting to cushion the blow as best he could, his love for his daughter overriding his disappointment.

"Dad," Thirteen whispers brokenly into the phone as she slumps down in her seat.

"_Rem…" _the other man breaks off. _"I'm sorry," _he apologizes simply. There is a slight pause before he hangs up.

"But Alex is all I have left," the brunette says to no one in particular before releasing a defeated sigh. She runs a shaky hand through her tangled hair before slamming her head back against the locker in frustration and anger.

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"Remy's going to lose her daughter?" Allison questions her ex-girlfriend's father as soon as he hangs up the phone.

Robert lets out a tired sigh and runs his fingers through his short hair. "Yes," is the short answer.

"But Alex is all she has left," the blonde woman muses, as if reading the other woman's thoughts.

"You don't understand what it was like the last time this happened," Robert is quick to defend his actions. "Nobody knew…at first. When it started to become obvious that something was going on, she didn't even try to hide it and it became a living hell for everyone involved. Alex doesn't realize how lucky she is to have been too young to remember," he then explains.

"Then how do we fix it? You said that all that happened to fix it last time was that Alex called her 'mom' for the first time. How do we fix it now?" Allison asks him, desperate to find anything that she can do.

"Why do you even want to help? You two aren't even together anymore," he points out, tired from the fighting with his daughter and all of the new developments in everyone's lives.

"That doesn't mean that I've stopped loving her!" Cameron snaps. "I just don't want to see her when she hits rock bottom because that would mean that…" she trails off, wiping at her eyes and wondering when she started crying.

"It would mean that…what?" Robert gently prompts, his attention riveted on the young woman before him.

"It would mean that I didn't love her enough to stop it from happening in the first place," she admits quietly, voicing her biggest fear since she first realized the depth of the other woman's problems.

"Don't say that!" Robert sternly barks, causing the ER doctor's head to shoot up and give him a startled look. "You're starting to sound like Remy after Olivia…" he trails off, not knowing what his daughter told the other woman about her former lover's death.

"After Olivia what?" Cameron wonders, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"What did Remy tell you about Olivia's death?" He questions cautiously.

Allison is taken back by the, seemingly, unrelated question. "Nothing much. Just that it was an accident," she tells him.

Robert scoffs at his daughter's weak cover-up. It takes him a moment to debate whether or not to give the woman the whole story. After barely a moment of deliberation, he decides that he might as well seeing as how his daughter won't do it.

"There was no accident. The night Olivia died, I was babysitting Alex while Remy was with a study group and Olivia was supposed to be working on a term paper…Olivia killed herself," he reluctantly reveals the facts.

"What?" Cameron incredulously breathes out.

Robert nods with a grim expression on his face before going over to his desk and pulling out a picture in its frame from one of the drawers. "One of the first things Remy said to me afterwards was that she felt so guilty because she thought that it meant that she just didn't love Olivia enough to prevent it from happening," he adds, thus explaining why the blonde doctor's earlier words upset him like they did.

"But why would Olivia…I mean, with Alex and Remy, why did she…" Allison keeps breaking up, not sure how to voice her question.

As the other woman is struggling for words, Robert fiddles with the back of the picture frame before pulling out the picture and a folded sheet of paper. He hands the picture to the blonde doctor. Allison sees the smiling faces of a blonde Remy, a stunning brunette that she can only assume to be Olivia, and a one or two year old Alex. Remy and Alex are grinning into the camera as the dark-haired woman in the picture casts a sad, sidelong look at Remy.

"That was taken a week before Olivia killed herself. All she left by way of explanation was this note, which Remy found on the coffee table first thing when she got home…before she found her girlfriend's body," he continues as he hands her the note.

Cameron unfolds the paper and reads the words warily. Then, her eyes widen and she rereads them carefully.

"_**R,**_

_**I love you, but I can't do this anymore. It all just hurts too much. I'm sorry.**_

_**- O"**_

Allison's jaw hangs open as she realizes that the words in Olivia's suicide letter are almost identical to the ones she used in the breakup letter she left for Thirteen as well. Even where the letter was found mirrors where she placed her break-up note. She closes her eyes tightly as she realizes that she hurt the other woman even more than she thought, no matter how inadvertently she may have done so.

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Remy, having managed to stop crying, has finally gotten around to start clearing out her locker. She is carelessly throwing spare t-shirts and pants into a box before her eyes settle on a cluster of pictures she has on the inside of the door.

Thirteen's actions slow as she begins tracing the lines of Allison's smile in one of the pictures with her fingertips. She allows a hint of a smile to grace her lips as she sees a favorite of hers, one with her _**ex**_-girlfriend pushing Alexis on a swing when they all went to the park. She took that picture herself.

Remy is overwhelmed by the realization that she has lost everyone that she loves. Her mother died, then Olivia, now Allison and Alexis. Also, she knows that, while he is still around, she has lost her father, or at least, his respect for her. She just didn't know why she had to have lost the last three people all in one day.

Her musings are cut short when the locker room door opens and House walks in with a file in his hand. "I'm leaving, what more could you possibly want?" She questions her former boss irritably, not ready for another confrontation.

The older man seems to ponder something for a moment. "Do you go picking up women that aren't your girlfriend often?" He questions, his tone unreadable.

Thirteen sighs warily. "I wasn't picking anyone up, House. Spencer and I…we both took Ecstasy the other night and I just don't know how we even ended up at her apartment. Nothing happened though. I would never cheat on Allison," she asserts, wanting that to be clear. "I love her," she whispers, more to herself than her former boss.

"Then why were you doing this in the first place? You were _**fine **_until recently. Until a few months ago, you were so disgustingly happy and normal and then it all changed. How could you do this to your girlfriend and your daughter?!" House shouts at her, his own temper beginning to flare up.

"What? You noticed?" Remy asks him in shock and he says nothing. "Then why didn't you say anything? I would have thought that you would have been happy to tell everyone what a fuck-up I am."

"Because maybe I was hoping that I would be wrong this time. This is the one time that I didn't want to be right about what I saw," House admits in a grim tone.

"Why is that?" The brunette scoffs.

"Maybe because I didn't want to see you turn into me," is his reluctant response.

Hadley rubs her eyes tiredly. "What are you even doing here, House? I have nothing else to lose at this point, so why are we even talking?"

The other doctor studies her for a moment. He wants to point out that she still has her daughter, but judging by the look on Thirteen's face, that may not even be the case. She would have considered her daughter if she still had her. So, in true House fashion, he decides to be blunt.

"I have a theory that you are doing all of this for control. You can't control your disease, but you _**can **_control whatever else you do to your body. Whatever ignited this self-destructive streak you're on made you feel like you were losing control of yourself. This way, if you can't control the disease, you can drown it out," he postulates, trying to be as scientific as possible without letting his own feelings on the matter get in the way.

Remy never imagined that House had put so much thought into his theory. It wasn't entirely accurate, but it was close enough. "So what if it is all about control? That doesn't explain you being here," she is quick to point out, neither confirming or denying his claim.

"How would you like to play God?" House questions as he hands her the file in his hand. "Spencer has LAM. You be the one to tell her that she has ten years to live," he offers, watching her expression closely. She remains guarded.

Remy glances briefly at the information on the page in front of her to confirm the diagnosis. "Okay," she nods simply.

"This isn't a test. You won't get rehired if you-"

"I know what it's like to get this news and nobody should have to get it from you," Thirteen interrupts him. They share a meaningful look before she grabs her jacket and wordlessly leaves the locker room. House notices that she left her purse behind.

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Hadley cautiously enters Spencer's room. The other woman, upon seeing her, tries to adjust herself more comfortably in the bed as the younger brunette stops at the foot of the bed.

"That's a pretty serious look you have there, Doctor," Spencer smiles in a joking tone, nervously trying to break the tension on Thirteen's face.

"We got some of your test results back and the biopsy results showed the presence of smooth muscle cells…a telltale sign of LAM," Remy explains gravely, knowing that Spencer will have no idea what it means. She only says it so that it is easier to deliver the hard part of the news.

"I don't understand," the bedridden brunette questions, confirming that her words had no real meaning for her.

"The cysts on your lungs can be removed but they'll come back…and they'll keep coming back until they've replaced all your lung tissue," she goes on to explain, hoping that she doesn't have to spell it out for the other woman.

A look of realization crosses over Spencer's face. "I'm going to die," she concludes with a bit of shock.

"Yes," Remy breathes out quietly. "I am so sorry," she adds, trying to keep her own tears at bay. She's torn between keeping her distance and going to comfort the other woman. So, she settles on moving closer and taking her hand.

At this point, neither of them really know what to say, so they say nothing.

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**5:20 pm**

After the surgery, Spencer is back in her room with Remy by her side. "The cyst removal should help you to breath better and alleviate your other symptoms as well," the young doctor informs her.

"When will the cysts come back?" Spencer can't help but ask.

At this, Hadley gives pause. "We don't know," she admits.

The other woman releases a frustrated sigh as she leans her head back against the bed. "I just don't know how to feel about any of this," she confesses to the slightly younger woman.

Remy drops her gaze from the other woman's face to the blanket and she takes a deep breath. "You'll feel numb for a few days, then you'll cry for a few weeks. Next, you'll get angry and just stop caring because nothing matters anymore. You'll push away everyone that you love and everyone that loves you. You might even go to bars to pick up women or, even, to just forget," she quietly enlightens her as to what she has to look forward to.

Spencer gives her an odd look. "You…" she trails off, not sure of the proper etiquette required to ask someone if they're dying.

"I have Huntington's," Remy says, noting that it never gets any easier to say out loud…or even in your own head.

"How long do you have?" The other woman questions out of her own morbid curiosity.

"Maybe a little longer than you…maybe a little less," Thirteen tells her. "I'll race you," she jokes with a grim smile.

"Your girlfriend and your daughter already know that you're dying?" Spencer wonders, trying to get used to the feel of the word 'dying' in her mouth.

"Al-Dr. Cameron," Hadley corrects herself, "is my ex-girlfriend. She broke up with me earlier today or last night…It's all a little hazy," she states, trying not to show how much it hurts.

"I'm sorry. I hope it's not because of me," Spencer apologizes, genuinely sorry for something that she had no idea was going on.

Remy knows that it would be so easy to place the blame on the other woman. If it wasn't Spencer, the events wouldn't have snowballed into the massive clusterfuck that they became. She also knows that it isn't fair to blame the other woman. Spencer had no way of knowing and Remy shouldn't have been out partying in the first place.

"No, it's because I am a massive screw up. Cameron and Alexis deserve better anyways," she sighs.

"Your daughter broke up with you too?" The skeptical patient quirks an eyebrow at the statement.

"I told my dad what happened with me losing Allison and my job in the same day. When I told him why, he told me that he can't, in good conscience, let her stay with me for the time being," Thirteen sighs, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"You got fired too? You're having a shitty day," Spencer can't help but comment on the obvious state of the other woman's life.

Remy can't help but smirk at the other brunette before something grabs her attention. She leans forward in her chair and frowns as she pulls down the blanket to reveal a blood stain on the bandages from the surgery. After a moment of realization, she rushes out to tell House that Spencer doesn't have LAM after all.

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**6:00 pm**

After reminding Thirteen, once again, that she is still fired, House finds himself making his way down to the ER to visit a certain bleach-blonde doctor to inform her of a recent discovery. As much as it pains him, he has to admit that he was disappointed to find out that Thirteen and Cameron had broken up. He tells himself that it's because the idea of the two of them is really hot, but, deep down, he knows there is more to it than that.

House approaches Cameron's office door and knocks once before entering.

"No," Allison says immediately once she sees who is entering her office.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," House points out, hating that everyone in this damned hospital seems to think that they know him so well.

"I know you, House," Cameron snarks, inadvertently confirming his suspicions.

"Why did you dump Thirteen?" He asks, surprising her with his directness.

"Why did you fire her?" Allison shoots back.

"To save her from getting a drug test and destroying her career. Your turn," he retorts, not in the mood to play games.

"She's done this whole 'self-destructive' thing before and I don't want to be the one to witness her hit rock bottom," Cameron replies, reeling a little from the fact that he fired her ex-girlfriend to save her career.

"I _**know **_that she loves you and I thought you loved her too. I guess I was wrong," House snorts.

"Shut up!" Allison shouts, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes as she stands to face him.

"You don't just give up on someone like Remy. Even if you think that you are helping her by leaving her and forcing her to face her problems, she needs you more than anything right now," he says enigmatically.

The blonde takes a deep breath and averts her gaze. "Just get out," she quietly orders. The fact that he even referred to the other woman by her real name is jarring enough without his accurate insight to go along with it.

House, shockingly, moves towards the door. However, he pauses before touching the handle. "She's dying," he states simply.

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_**WonderousPlaceForAnEcho**_, the accident last September was me walking home from a friend's party because I'd rather walk drunk than drive drunk. So, I was on the sidewalk of a main road and, well, someone didn't agree with the 'walking drunk' theory. Long story short, I got mowed down by a speeding car that decided that the sidewalk was a good place to drive.

Anyways…I've certainly done another number on Hadley, haven't I? In just two chapters she's managed to lose her girlfriend, her daughter, her father's respect, _**and **_her job. This is her life falling apart around her. Sadly, she hasn't quite hit rock bottom yet. Dun!…Dun!…Dun!

Also, I know this is kind of weird, but I like the idea of Thirteen confiding in Spencer. So, I gave Spencer a bit more of a personality than the show did. Another side note: I got to use my favorite word in this chapter (it's 'clusterfuck' for those of you wondering). It's just a fun word for me because I am simple…lol.

Feel free to be happy that this is my second update in two days. I just finished chapter 24 of **_Taking the Long Way_** and I was excited to get this chapter up because I love this _Lucky Thirteen_ arc. Also, who says reviews don't result in faster updates? However, don't expect another speedy update like this though for next time.

Tell me how you liked this and if you totally hate me now for what I've done to these poor, poor characters.


	7. Self Pity Is Not A Good Look

**Spoilers!**: The rest of _Lucky Thirteen_ (finally!).

**A/N**: So, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the previous ones. But the next one is pretty long (nine pages and over 4500 words)...and this was a pretty fast update too.

**A/N2**: I love the irony of House being the one to give Cameron a reality check. We also haven't seen the last of his extensive background check on Thirteen.

**A/N3**: Also, no, I am not going to make Thirteen try and kill herself (like her mom and Alex's mom did). That would catapult this story from 'depressing' into the realm of being 'emo'…and we can't have that ;)

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**Chapter Seven- Self-Pity Is Not A Good Look**

Cameron is understandably confused. She already knows about her ex-girlfriend's disease, so she can only assume that he means his patient. "Yeah, I heard about Spencer-"

"I wasn't talking about her. Thirteen is dying and-"

"Haven't we already drove the fact that Remy has Huntington's into the ground by now?" She snaps back harshly.

House rolls his eyes at her. "She took a CAG test."

"Did she tell you that?" Allison asks, wondering why Remy would tell him about it and not her.

"Hell no…I found the results in her purse. When I read them everything suddenly made sense…" he trails off dramatically.

"What are you talking about?" The blonde wonders, not sure what 'everything' was.

"Am I the only one that pays attention in this damn hospital?!" House snaps at her. "The mood swings, the tremors in her hands, the fact that she is engaging in compulsive behavior…like drinking and using drugs. What are these early symptoms of Dr. Cameron?" He leads her irritably.

It doesn't take long for the pieces to come together. "She started displaying the early signs of Huntington's," she whispers to herself.

"At first I just thought she finally snapped and these things all related to her partying after work, but then I saw the CAG results and-"

"How high were they?" Cameron interrupts, the sudden need to know too strong to ignore.

House hesitates a moment. "Upper 50s…She may not make it to see her 35th birthday," he tells her softly, feeling the unfamiliar pang of sympathy as Allison drops heavily into her desk chair.

"Where's she at right now?" Cameron finally asks after she absorbs some of the shock.

House winces, not wanting to tell the other woman the truth. "She's with Spencer," he informs her. Allison wastes no time before she stands up and heads out of her office, leaving House alone. "But I wouldn't go there," he mumbles to himself before making his way down the hall.

The blonde would hate to admit it, but House's words really got to her. She understands why Remy is pushing everyone away. Her ex-girlfriend never wants to make her problems anyone else's.

Thirteen deals with things by pretending that they don't exist and, if she's displaying symptoms of Huntington's already, then that makes it real. She can't pretend anymore. So, she must have just hit a breaking point a couple of months ago. As Cameron approaches the patient's room, she could just smack herself for not doing anything about her girlfriend's obvious issues sooner.

Allison pauses when she reaches the room. She is watching the two women and, for a split second, she envies Spencer. Remy and the patient are able to connect on the level that they are both dying. The ER doctor knows that she can't possibly know what it's like to know that you have less than ten years to live. Being married to or in love with someone who is dying is nowhere near the same as being the one to actually die.

When she sees Remy lean in and place a kiss on Spencer's lips, Cameron turns around and walks back down the hallway. She knows that, maybe on some weird level, Spencer and Remy need each other right now, but that doesn't stop the tears.

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Remy is laying next to Spencer on the hospital bed, waiting for results from the battery of tests the team is running. She hates not being able to do anything to help find what the problem is. The feeling of helplessness has never really sat well with her to begin with, but she can't get over her desire to do something.

"I'm glad you're here," Spencer whispers to the sullen woman, effectively drawing her out of her thoughts.

Thirteen offers a weak smile in response. There's only one person's arms she wants to lay in, but Spencer isn't that person. She slightly tightens her arms around the other woman's waist, but says nothing.

The other brunette watches the emotions play across the young doctor's face for a moment. "If you love her, why don't you do something about it instead of just accepting it? You're admitting defeat by letting her walk out of your life," Spencer offers sagely.

"Because, in the long run, she's right to want out. It will only get harder as my disease gets worse. I don't want to die with either of them hating me. It's not worth the pain of when I finally just…die," Remy replies, thinking of her feelings towards her own mother. Despite everything, she can't get rid of the residual resentment towards her.

Spencer scowls at the younger woman's attitude. "Self-pity isn't a good look on you," she comments irritably.

"It's not just self-pity. I've lived through this same thing with my mother and I still hate her. The rational side of me says that the things she said and did weren't her fault, but it still hurts just the same. Now I hate her because she's the reason why I have Huntington's, like it's some karmic joke that I have to continue the cycle with my own daughter. I don't want her to go through life hating me," Hadley explains as she stands up and gets out of the bed.

Spencer has nothing to say. She didn't know that this is simply history repeating itself. Luckily, she is saved from having to attempt to continue the conversation when there is a tapping on the door.

Remy glances up to find her former boss at the door. Casting an apologetic half-smile to the other woman, she stands up and exits the room to see what the other man wants.

"She's going to need a bone marrow transplant," House informs his former employee as soon as the door closes behind her.

Hadley nods and turns to glance at the woman in the other room. "So, you found out what's wrong with her," she concludes.

"Uh, no. But, we have a donor match and whatever is wrong with her will invariably require a bone marrow transplant," he points out in response.

"Yeah, but the irradiation of her existing marrow will kill her," Remy is quick to note the fault in his plan.

"Well, we won't do the irradiation," House shrugs an he notices that the younger woman is about to protest. "Most of her marrow is already wiped out," he argues his point.

"Yeah, _**most**_ meaning 'not all'. That's still enough for the existing marrow to fight off the donor marrow in graft-versus-host. It will kill her anyways," Thirteen says, trying to get him to understand that this is a no-win situation.

"Do you have any better ideas?" House challenges the brunette.

Remy remains silent, wracking her brain for anything. "No," she murmurs.

"Then I need you to get her consent," he states, handing her the forms and walking away.

"Me?!" She blurts out.

"She trusts you," is all he says as he continues to hobble down the hall, not bothering to turn around and face her as he answers.

Remy releases a heavy sigh as she reenters the room. "Is there something wrong?" Spencer wonders as soon as she sees the deep frown on the other woman's face.

"House thinks that you are going to need a bone marrow transplant," Thirteen carefully informs her.

"So they know what I have?" Is the hopeful question.

"No…but the team is fairly certain that you have some kind of a blood disorder," Hadley explains. "He sent me in here to get you to sign these consent forms," she adds, setting the papers in front of the other woman along with a pen.

Spencer picks up the pen as she looks at the papers and then back up at the young doctor. "What do you think?" She asks, trying to see what the other brunette believes she should do.

Remy glances up from the floor to fix her with an remorseful gaze. "If he's right and it is a blood disorder, you'll live longer with the transplant than without it. If he's wrong…you'll die anyways and for no good reason," she tells her honestly.

The slightly older woman takes a deep breath before quickly signing her name on the papers. "Is that it?" She asks, handing the consent forms back.

"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Remy can't help but respond, shocked that the other woman would risk her life on a procedure that may be unnecessary.

"If you didn't think that he was right, then you wouldn't have asked me to sign," Spencer smiles weakly before reaching for the other woman's hand and closing her eyes.

Thirteen squeezes Spencer's hand in her own. She smiles ruefully when she realizes that House was right about the patient trusting her. _I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass_.

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House's brows furrow in confusion when he gets back upstairs to find Lucas spinning around in his desk chair. "What are you doing here?" He questions bluntly.

This causes the P.I. to stop his actions and face the other man. He takes a moment to allow the room to stop spinning before reaching into his bag and pulling out two files. "I believe you said you wanted two copies of everything," he states, dropping them on the desk, causing a grin to spread across the doctor's face. "Why two copies?" He can't help but ask.

"Backup," House smirks before grabbing one of the files and heading towards the elevator leaving a baffled Lucas behind. It doesn't take long for him to reach the first floor and make his way to the ER. He makes a pit stop at the Nurse's Station before approaching a familiar office door. The diagnostician knocks once and enters without waiting for a reply.

"What is it now, House?" Cameron questions as she sees her eerily giddy former boss standing in front of her with a file in his hand.

"An early Christmas present," House states as he hands her the file.

"It's September," Allison deadpans.

"I said 'early' didn't I?" The older man rolls his eyes as he watches her open the file. Her eyes widen and she looks up at him in shock. "You're welcome."

"What is this, House?" The blonde asks, not sure whether to be angry or grateful.

"Everything you ever wanted to know about Thirteen that she wouldn't tell you…which I'm guessing is a lot. School records, information about all of her exes…including the infamous Olivia and how she died. Also, Alexis' father is brought up as well…just in case you were interested," he shrugs nonchalantly.

Allison flips through a couple of pages before closing the file and pushing it away from her. "No. This is invading her privacy too much and, if it was any of my business, she would have told me," she asserts, trying to do the right thing despite her curiosity.

"After being together for almost a year and a half, her business _**is **_your business. If she had nothing to hide, wouldn't she have told you the truth?" He questions rhetorically.

This gives Cameron pause since she had said almost the same thing to Remy when the other woman refused to take a drug test the other day. "Why are you giving this to me? You fired her so you really don't have a reason to try and fix her personal life," she muses.

House merely smiles enigmatically before shrugging his shoulders and wandering off, back to his office so that he can let the blonde doctor make her own decision about the file.

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As House is limping towards his office, he notices a certain brunette former employee of his standing in front of his desk. _These glass walls sure do come in handy_. Is all he can think as he enters the office.

Thirteen turns as soon as she hears him enter. "Spencer signed the consent forms," she states, wanting simply to get this over and done with so that she can spend the rest of her life wallowing in self-loathing.

House considers her for a moment. "You're on a downward spiral of self-destruction. You're going to keep spiraling, keep screwing around, keep slashing away at every person who tries to help until no one tries to help anymore…until you've hit bottom. Until you're dead," he informs her.

In response, Remy merely looks down at the floor and grips the papers more tightly in her hands. "I can stop," she retorts, albeit weakly.

"But until then, I can use you," House finishes, ignoring her interruption. This earns him a sharp look from the other woman. "You did good work today," he acknowledges as his reason for hiring her back.

"I did good work yesterday and I was still fired," she points out in reference to her showing up in time to save Spencer. A look of realization crosses over her face. "You were never really going to fire me, were you?" She asks incredulously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he smirks in response.

"You wanted me to connect with her," she continues on as she moves closer to him.

"You connected with a diagnosis," House is quick to correct her.

Remy shakes her head as if to clear it. "You were trying to help in your own way because-"

"Your lips are cracked," the older doctor cuts her off, his tone thoughtful.

The brunette reaches up to touch the aforementioned lips. "Don't deflect. You always deflect," she shakes him off.

"When you told her she was dying, did she cry?" He then asks.

"She was upset. She-"

"Were. There. Tears?" He restates the question slowly.

Hadley takes a moment to ponder the question before shaking her head. "No."

At this, House wordlessly leaves the room with Thirteen hot on his heels.

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**7:15 pm**

Back in Spencer's room, House just revealed that the brunette did not, in fact, need that bone marrow transplant after all. Apparently, Spencer was suffering from Sjogren's Syndrome and would be fine with some corticosteroids.

At the news, Spencer breathed a sigh of relief and cast a thankful smile towards Hadley. Remy attempted to give the other woman a reassuring smile, but it was only half-hearted as she felt the familiar loneliness overwhelm her once again. After offering a few words of encouragement and happiness that Spencer will be fine, she made a hasty retreat.

In the locker room, Thirteen is just finishing putting the rest of her stuff back in her old locker when Taub walks in.

"I heard you got your job back. Congratulations," Taub offers with his trademark awkward smile. Remy simply looks over at him with a ghost of a smile crossing over her lips before she slams the locker door shut. "You know, I'm not going anywhere until you say something," he pushes.

Thirteen sighs as she grabs her bag and walks over to him. "House was right. I connected with the diagnosis and not the patient. Now that she's fine, I just feel so alone and they haven't gone anywhere," she confesses, wondering if that this makes her a bad person by referring to both Spencer and Allison.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Dr. Cameron," he says sympathetically, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"Me too," the brunette chuckles humorlessly before averting her eyes for a moment. "I'm going to go. I'm tired," she excuses herself. "I'll see you tomorrow," she adds before going out the door. Taub merely sighs before going over to his own locker so that he can prepare to go home.

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**9:00 pm**

Cameron has bittersweet feelings in regards to the ER not being particularly busy tonight. While she's happy that there are no life-threatening injuries to report on, she's upset that this is giving her time to think over the file sitting on her desk. Despite her earlier misgivings and thoughts that she is betraying the privacy of her ex-girlfriend, she can't seem to get it out of her head.

This is how Allison ends up back in her office and opening the file back up. She initially just intended to skim through it, but she quickly found that that was nothing more than a pipe dream as she finds herself engrossed in all of the little things that she never knew about her former girlfriend.

The blonde turns to another page in the file and she is startled to find a yellow Post-It note in the middle of the page. She pulls it out and reads it, a smile gracing her lips near the end.

"_**Cameron, **_

_**I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation. Don't worry about me firing 13. You'll see her back here tomorrow.**_

_**- House"**_

_Typical. I should have known that he wouldn't really fire her. It kind of explains why he even gave me her file in the first place._ She continues reading through the papers in front of her.

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Across town, Remy is looking to forget the shitty few days she's had. After losing her daughter and girlfriend, she just needs to drown herself in something with a lot of alcohol.

Hadley glances around the club for a few moments once she steps inside. She makes her way to the bar to order a double shot of something. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spots a pretty blonde woman with blue eyes giving her a coy smile. _She's not Allison, but she'll do._ She determines before sliding down the bar to chat the blonde up and, maybe, she'll get to do more to the blonde after a few more drinks.

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I know it was a little odd that Taub took Foreman's place in the locker room near the end. I just think that I kind of established them as being somewhat friendly in previous chapters. It would have felt out of place in my version of the _House_-verse to have Foreman be there instead.

I also didn't intend for Cameron to come across as being mean in the last chapter. I wanted her to come across as being scared because of the depth of her feelings and the recklessness of her girlfriend. She broke up with her because she didn't know how else to handle it.

At least Thirteen has her job back. Next chapter is going to be _Emancipation_, the episode before _Last Resort_. I will mention stuff from _Joy _and ignore _The Itch _because I don't want the events from that episode to effect my storyline. Also, yes, I _**will**_ be doing my own version of _Last Resort_ because I'm not done torturing my favorite character yet (I'm such a sadist).

Also, Alex will make an appearance in the next chapter. Remember, she was only supposed to be gone until the end of the week.

One final thing: Whenever I get around to some of the more recent things in the show, I am considering having Cuddy take parenting lessons from Thirteen. Since Alex is no more Thirteen's biological kid than Rachel is Cuddy's, I think it might work. What do you guys think (about this idea and the chapter)?


	8. The Rumor Mill

**Spoilers!**: Mentions some things from _Joy_, but mostly _Emancipation_.

**A/N**: A little bit of a 'filler' chapter to help tie up some loose ends between _Lucky Thirteen_ and _Last Resort_. It felt weird to cut three episodes from my story.

**A/N2**: Also, it looks like Thirteen will be giving Cuddy parenting lessons in the near future.

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**Chapter Eight- The Rumor Mill**

**One Week Later, 8:00 am**

The thing about Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is that it is, in a lot of ways, like a small town. Aside from the low population of the hospital's employees, news tends to get around pretty quickly in here. Lately, PPTH's rumor mill has been especially busy.

As of late, the breakup between Drs. Cameron and Hadley has been the biggest source of gossip material. It seems as though Thirteen and Cameron are the PPTH equivalent to Branjelina. Their relationship was a microcosm of Hollywood or the royal family.

Allison has never been one to listen to the gossip around the ER or the lab or…anywhere else gossiping may be taking place. However, in light of her emotional breakup with her girlfriend, she has been spending an increasing amount of time trying to find out whatever she can about her ex.

House, for his part, seems to be relishing in the emotional distress of his female fellow. The blonde ER doctor even heard that he sent Thirteen and Taub out to buy cocaine to test and see if it was tainted. That was last week and, as Allison heard in the cafeteria days later, the cocaine had gone missing. It was implied that Dr. Hadley had been the one to take it, but it has never been confirmed. Cameron chooses not to believe that one.

When House 'generously' gave Allison a file filled with all of the gory details of her ex-girlfriend's life, she had been understandably reluctant in reading it. If Remy wanted her to know the stuff in the file, she would have told her herself. That being said, Cameron's curiosity got the better of her and she found herself unable to resist the temptation.

Remy's father had already told her that Olivia killed herself, it was still horrifying to read about the details. It was almost as painful as reading that Alexis had been the result of her birth mother's attempt to do a good deed by giving a drunk male friend a ride home from a party. The file even went so far as to describe the events surrounding Remy's mother's death and illness. Ann Hadley managed to get a hold of a lethal dose of sedatives during one of her more lucid moments.

Now, standing by the Nurse's Station in the ER, Allison glances over to see Thirteen make her way to the elevator, not even looking in her direction. With a sigh, she can't help but think that, as bad as she feels for the other woman, she doesn't know how she can help her.

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**10:30 am**

_It's sad when you get used to breaking into people's apartments._ Thirteen muses as she and Taub walk into Sophia's apartment to look for anything to account for her symptoms.

"The furniture looks handmade," Remy muses as she takes a look at her surroundings while Taub goes through her desk.

"She even balances her own checkbook," Taub adds before holding up the aforementioned item. "If she's this much of an adult at 16, I wonder what she'll be like at 30," he ponders aloud.

"You turn back into a kid like Kutner," Hadley bitterly grumbles, not wanting to speculate anymore about the patient.

"Is there something wrong with wanting to be like a kid?" Taub questions her, more for the sake of talking about something. The brunette has certainly been in a bit of a funk…for obvious reasons.

"He wants to see the best in everyone…he's too trusting," she snaps back at her colleague, knowing that she is unfairly lashing out at him.

"I would tend to see that as a good thing," the older doctor points out, earning himself a dirty look. "It just means that he hasn't been given a reason to not be trusting in the first place," he adds.

"Then that makes him naïve," Thirteen retorts.

"Now you're starting to sound like House."

The younger woman shoots him a glare. "I'm just saying that trust should be earned," she winces at her harsh tone.

"Well, on the other side of the spectrum is people who don't trust enough. That can be just as bad as trusting too easily," he pointedly replies.

"Excuse me if I don't take relationship advise from you," Remy snarks back. _At least he hasn't been needling me about my personal life like everyone else on the team. _She sighs to herself.

"As if you're somehow the expert," Taub bites back, tired of being her verbal punching bag. She tries to ignore him as she moves into the kitchen area. "Maybe if you had only trusted Cameron enough to have been honest with her, then-"

"Then what?!" Hadley shouts back in a warning tone, an underlying vulnerability just barely peeking through as she turns her attention back to the other man.

Taub is a little shocked to see the uncharacteristic openness on her face and he softens up upon seeing it. "I'm sorry to hear about you and…I'm just sorry about everything from, you know…" he trails off awkwardly, hoping that she understands without him having to bring up everything that happened after, what it has become known as around the hospital's rumor mill, 'Black Tuesday'.

"I don't want to talk about it," Thirteen grumbles, the brief moment of weakness having passed. Then, she produces a bong from one of the cabinets in the kitchen. "Still think we should trust the patient?" She wonders rhetorically, arching an eyebrow at the other man.

"Maybe not," the other man is stunned at the discovery.

As the pair continue a basic search of the apartment, Taub's thoughts keep coming back to the other woman. After Black Tuesday, when Thirteen showed up in the ER with a woman that was not her girlfriend, it had spread like wildfire. A couple of days later, the news of their breakup was everywhere. One would think that these people didn't have better things to do with their time. It's not like this was an episode of _Grey's Anatomy_ or something. However, anything regarding the breakup or events after in respects to the two women involved has been merely speculation. Both women have been more than tight-lipped about it. But, one question keeps plaguing Taub.

The older man takes a brief glance at the bong sitting on the table before turning his attention back to the other woman. "Is it true that you took the rest of the cocaine from our sleepwalker case last week?" He asks.

Thirteen visibly stiffens at the accusation. "That's probably a rumor that House started himself. I'm sure that about 98 percent of what you've heard in the last week is not true. The other two percent is no one's business except mine and Dr. Cameron's," is her controlled response.

"You've gone back to calling her 'Dr. Cameron'," Taub points out and Remy looks confused. "Before it was 'Allison' or just 'Cameron'," he elaborates.

"Yeah," Remy replies quietly, mostly just to fill the silence.

"You still haven't told her about the CAG test or the tremors, have you?" He asks with sudden realization.

"We aren't exactly on speaking terms," Hadley snorts before noting the stern gaze of the shorter man. "It's for the best," she sighs in defeat.

"That makes no sense."

"This would only be harder on Cameron and Alexis in the long-run," she explains briefly as she finishes going through the kitchen cabinets and finding nothing.

"You mean Alex isn't with you anymore either?" Taub questions incredulously.

"No. Allison and Alexis are staying at my dad's house for now," she honestly tells him, trusting the other man not to blab it to anyone else.

"That's good. It means that this might not be permanent if they are staying with him," Taub attempts to make the younger doctor feel better.

"Or it could mean that Allison hasn't found her own apartment yet," Remy replies. Taub has no intelligent comeback. "We should get back to the hospital," she sighs before running her fingers through her hair.

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**12:20 pm**

Chase easily spots a certain blonde ex-girlfriend of his sitting alone in the cafeteria picking at her food. He approaches her cautiously and clears his throat to get her attention.

"Hey," Cameron greets the surgeon with a weak smile.

"Hi. You mind if I sit?" He questions, gesturing towards the empty seat next to her.

"No, of course not," the blonde answers amicably.

The Aussie considers her for a moment. "I know we haven't really been on friendly terms since we broke up last year, but you can still talk to me about whatever's bothering you," Chase offers sincerely.

Allison looks at him for a long moment before putting down her fork and eyeing him carefully. "I just feel so stupid for not noticing something sooner," she sighs, running her fingers through her hair.

"It's easy not to notice something if you're around it all the time. Sometimes a person can be too close to realize that there is a problem," he wisely offers.

"I know. It's just…the signs were all there and I just never was able to put them all together," she responds, scoffing at her own failure to pay attention. Chase reaches over and places a comforting hand on her arm. However, before he can reply, his attention shifts behind the blonde ER doctor.

"Are you guys getting along?" Foreman asks as he approaches the pair, eyeing Cameron suspiciously.

"Because if we weren't, then we would be too distracted to help you, right?" Allison arches a brow sarcastically.

Foreman sets the file down on the table between them. "I need a differential on uncontrollable laughter," he explains, wondering if Cameron is rebounding from Thirteen with another one of her exes.

For his part, Chase actually glances at the file. "I think it could have to do with the fact that the child is four," is his diagnosis.

"I think that you have three other doctors and a gimp to run this by," the blonde grinds out uncomfortably.

"This isn't House's case," Foreman retorts.

Before Cameron can say anything, Chase jumps back into the conversation. "I'll take a look at it…but whatever you're trying to prove to House by taking this case won't work," he offers the last part hesitantly. "I should be going," he then says as he notes the uncomfortable silence.

"How have you been since…you know?" Foreman questions the blonde awkwardly.

"Never better," Allison grumbles unconvincingly and Foreman gives her a skeptical look. "I miss her," she admits quietly.

"Is that why you're with Chase?" He wonders.

Cameron's brows furrow at his question before her eyes widen and her face scrunches up in disgust. "Ew, no. He was just trying to be supportive," she informs the other man, angry that her former coworker would think that she would jump into bed with her ex-boyfriend because she was upset.

"Well, if you miss her, why don't you try talking to her? Not talking is what got you into this mess in the first place, right?" He questions wisely.

"_**Her**_ not talking got us into this," Allison snaps back. "I just don't even know how to talk to her anymore," she confesses with a sigh.

The blonde wonders how she can face the other woman after reading through Remy's file, cover-to-cover. She never knew that her ex-girlfriend had so many secrets and she doesn't know how she can face the other woman and pretend that she doesn't know them. Ever since reading that damned file, she has felt guilty for doing so.

"You can try," Foreman says, effectively snapping the ER doctor out of her thoughts.

"I'm…I'm just not ready. Not yet," she replies, shaking her head.

"But-" Foreman is cut off by the sound of his pager going off. "I'm sorry. I have-"

"Go," Cameron waves him off, knowing that duty calls. He nods shortly and leaves.

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**8:35 pm**

Allison is sitting next to Alexis on the little girl's bed. She is reading one of the eight year old's favorite books in an attempt to get her to sleep.

"You're not doing the voices," Alex grumbles as she looks up at the blonde doctor. "Mom always does the voices," she quietly says to herself, a note of bitterness in her tone.

Cameron sighs as she closes the book and runs her fingers through the little girl's hair. "I know," she acknowledges. The younger woman was always the one to read to Alex…until recently. It was a fact that Allison knew Alexis resented.

"When are we going to go home?" Alex questions. As much as she loves Grandpa Rob, she misses her mom and her apartment.

Allison looks away from the inquisitive blue eyes looking back up at her. She and Robert agreed to be as vague as possible in regards to the eight year old. "I don't know. You're mom is-"

"I wish you would stop fighting and make up already," the little girl snorts. All her grandpa and Allison, who she considers to be her friend, would tell her is that she and her mom were fighting…_**not **_that they had broken up.

"So do I, Sweetie," Cameron agrees honestly.

"Why am I staying with you and Grandpa instead of with Mom?" She wonders, voicing the question that has been bothering her since she came back from New Haven a few days ago.

The ER doctor sighs again. She knows that it was only a matter of time before the too-smart-for-her-own-good little girl would get around to asking the hard questions. "Remy is going through something right now and we all agreed that it would be best if you were with us," she says. It's a lie. Thirteen would never agree to giving up custody of her daughter. It was something that was forced on her.

At the explanation, Alex looks up at the other woman, he gaze probing. "Is it because Mom's sad and is never home?" She asks bluntly.

Once again, Allison is taken back at how perceptive the eight year old is. She gets the feeling that Alex would know if she lies to her. "It has a lot to do with it, yes," she confirms

Alex nods and drops her head, blinking back tears that she doesn't want the other woman to see. "Mom always told me that she would never leave me," she says weakly.

"She isn't leaving you. Your mom loves you more than anything," Cameron corrects the little girl.

"Are you going to leave me too, Ally?" Alex wonders, trying to keep her expression neutral.

It breaks Allison's heart to see the eight year old trying to close herself off in the same way that Remy does. She doesn't want the girl to end up hiding her emotions like the other woman, that would be the one habit that she doesn't want Alex to pick up from Hadley.

"No. I love you Alex and nothing will change that," Cameron answers, knowing that it is true. _I really love my girlfriend's daughter as if she was my own. _The thought sticks with Allison for a moment and she is unsure why.

"I love you too," Alex whispers before releasing a yawn.

With a slight smile, Cameron rises up out of the bed and places a soft kiss on Alexis' forehead. "I think it's time for you to get to sleep," she says as the girl's eyes slip closed.

As Allison goes to the door and shuts off the bedroom light, she realizes why her earlier thoughts were nagging at her psyche. _I still think of Remy as my girlfriend and not my 'ex'._

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As Thirteen makes her way back to Sophia's room, she can't help but dwell on the fact that the 16 year old was raped. The unbidden thoughts send her back to thinking about Olivia and Alex. This leads to thoughts about Cameron and how she has screwed up on a massive level with the ER doctor. She enters the patient's room.

"You'll be happy to know that the chelation therapy removed the arsenic from your body and you'll be discharged tomorrow," Hadley informs the teen.

"Good," Sophia smiles slightly. "Arsenic? I never would have guessed," she muses to herself. Remy just smiles slightly. "So, what's your advice?" She questions the other woman bluntly.

"You want my advice?" The doctor asks, shocked at the question.

"Wanting is one thing. Expecting is another," Sophia points out. "So far everyone else has been giving me their own words of wisdom," she adds.

"Well, I'm not everyone else. Besides, I'm in no position to be offering anyone life advice," Hadley responds self-deprecatingly.

"Uh huh," Sophia arches an eyebrow, still waiting for the ball to drop.

"You seem to have a good head on your shoulders and seem to make good decisions on your own," Remy confirms. "But if I had to offer my own 'words of wisdom'-"

"I knew it," the teen grins triumphantly.

"Then I would suggest you not make your own furniture," Thirteen smirks, earning a brief chuckle from the patient. The sound is cut off when Sophia begins to seize.

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**The Next Day, 9:15 am**

Hadley and Taub have been selected to do the brain biopsy to test for the promyelocytic leukemia that the brunette suggested the night before.

"A bone marrow transplant from you parents would be your best bet," she informs Sophia, knowing that it would be hard for the girl, but it would be the best way to ensure her to make it to see her 17th birthday.

"No. If I let them save me like this, it will be like making what they did okay," Sophia counters. "I'd rather die than let them help," she adds.

Remy sighs and continues on with the biopsy. Taub glares at his colleague. "I have Huntington's," he blurts out. Thirteen snaps her attention to him, her jaw hanging slightly agape. "I'm dying and I would do anything not to be. The only way to make your life matter is to live as long and as well as you possibly can," he continues shamelessly, ignoring the indignant look on the brunette's face.

"Have you ever been raped?" The teen counters.

Taub glances at Hadley, who arches an eyebrow as she waits for his answer. "No," he admits softly.

"Then you don't know what I'm going through," Sophia supplies. The procedure continues in silence.

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**An Hour Later**

Taub is trailing behind Thirteen and he can feel the other woman's rage rolling off of her in waves. Apparently he isn't the only one if the frightened looks on the faces of everyone they pass is any indication.

Remy finally snaps as they near the Diagnostics Office. "You had no right to-"

"I was just trying to convince Sophia to do the right thing and save her own life. The story I told her is true even if it isn't _**my **_story," he is quick to point out, the defense already prepared as he followed her down the hall, waiting for her start yelling.

"It's my life!" Hadley growls as she flings open the door and enters the office.

"It's _**her **_life!" Taub retorts, trying to get her to focus on the patient. "_**You **_should have been the one talking to her about your Huntington's but, no. You just spouted off DNA statistics and urged her to go to the cops about her father. Everything's by the book and nothing's ever personal with you!" He barks, frustrated by her inability to connect with anyone. "Ever since you and Cameron-"

"I'm trying to sleep in here!" House calls out from his adjoining office, cutting off the short doctor and, possibly, saving him from serious bodily injury.

"The biopsy was positive. Thirteen was right," Taub accedes her diagnosis despite his distain for her lack of interpersonal skills.

"We should track down her parents…whether she wants us to or not," the brunette adds the last part with a pointed glare at the balding man beside her. "She's a kid and she can't make decisions for herself," she states to further her cause, sure that her boss will agree since he is an unfeeling prick as well.

"I guess I'm the only one that cares about patient rights," House sighs regretfully, purposefully contradicting her because it is so much fun to aggravate the other woman. "We're only here to diagnose. If the patient wants to be an idiot, that's her prerogative," he shrugs in response to her incredulous expression.

"You're only concerned with finding the answer, not saving the patient," Remy glares, setting her jaw indignantly. "I'm going to find her parents," she announces before turning on her heel and leaving to do just that.

House would never admit it out loud, but one of the reasons why he hired the young woman was just perfectly exemplified moments ago. The brunette has never really been one to bend under his will and wasn't particularly intimidated by him. However, much to his chagrin, she seemed to easily read him even though he sometimes has difficulty returning the gesture. Unlike Thirteen, House knows that he and the other woman are a lot more alike than the brunette would care to admit.

"Go check the donor banks to find a match for the patient," House orders Taub. If his more attractive 'Houseling' is unsuccessful, they are going to need a backup donor. Taub takes a moment to note the introspective expression on his boss' face before exiting the room to follow his instructions.

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**6:15 pm**

"Jonah overdosed on iron. Apparently Evan gave him more vitamins to 'make him strong'," Foreman offers as he approaches Cameron at the Nurse's Station in the ER.

The blonde glances up from her chart to smile weakly. "I'm glad he'll be okay," she offers sincerely.

"And Sophia wasn't raped…she wasn't paying attention when she was supposed to be babysitting her brother and…he died. We called her parents and got her father to donate his marrow. She's in recovery now," he continues, trying to draw his friend out of her distracted state.

"So I guess everything worked out and House will let you do your trial after all," Allison attempts to be supportive. The elevator in the lobby draws her attention as she watches Taub and Hadley exit it together. As if sensing the scrutiny, Thirteen turns her head and locks eyes with her former girlfriend

Foreman follows the other woman's longing gaze. "Do you want to talk about it?" He questions softly.

Cameron tears her gaze from the other woman back towards her companion. "I'm still trying to sort things through upstairs," she begins, pointing to her head at the word 'upstairs'. "But I'm going to give her a call this weekend. She and I are long overdue for a talk," she explains, a reflective smile crossing her face.

"That's good," Foreman replies with a broad, genuine smile. All he wants is his friends to be happy.

"I miss her and, well, I'm hoping to work things out and get everything in the open. Maybe then we'll be able to work on rebuilding our relationship and finally talk about her disease and how it's effecting her…and us," Allison informs her former teammate.

"It's Tuesday now, so that gives you at least three days to figure out what to say. That should be plenty of time," Foreman muses idly.

"I'll be happy just to get to talk to her again," Cameron sighs softly, running her fingers through her hair. She grabs another chart off the counter of the Nurse's Station and furrows her brows. _A kid jumped off the roof of his house onto a trampoline?_ She rolls her eyes. "I'll see you later," she offers the other man before turning to treat an aspiring recipient of a Darwin Award.

"Bye," Foreman replies as she walks away.

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**Moments Earlier**

Despite saving Sophia or, as House liked to call the 16 year old identity thief, 'Nophia', Hadley still feels angry about being lied to. As she steps into the elevator, closely followed by Taub, she can't help but think about Olivia's experience with being raped. Even though she gained a daughter out of the situation, it was never easy and she feels that no one, no matter the circumstance, should ever accuse someone of it unless it really happened. Lying about it just takes some of the emotional impact away from the act as a whole.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Taub questions, breaking the other woman out of her reverie.

Remy offers a weak smile in response. "Nothing too important," she answers simply as the elevator comes to a stop and they exit it. As if pulled by some unseen force, her eyes drift over towards the ER. She is almost startled to find Allison's eyes boring into her with a frightening intensity.

"Do you want to talk about her?" Taub questions upon seeing the other woman transfixed on a certain blonde ER doctor.

Hadley merely shakes her head, the spell broken once the other woman turns her attention back to Foreman. "No," she simply replies. The shorter man decides to let it go…for now.

They exit the hospital at the same time and head to their separate destinations. Taub goes home to his wife, their shaky marriage finally on the mend after his confession of cheating on her. Hadley forgoes heading to her car in favor of getting to a club nearby. She isn't comfortable going straight home to her quiet, empty apartment.

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I'm updating now because I just finished the next chapter (beings _Last Resort_) and I also will be stuck at the stupid ass bar all weekend because of the damn Superbowl (I am going to be locked safely in my office all night). I don't know when I'll get a chance to work on any of my stories until after Sunday.

Like I said: 'filler' chapter.I wanted to show some of the more immediate repercussions of the events of _Lucky Thirteen_, so this is more of a way to update their status as a couple and explain what's going on in everyone's heads before the next chapter…which will begin _Last Resort_. I have been looking forward to writing that episode since before I started writing this sequel.

So, Cameron finally wants to talk about her and Thirteen's relationship and Thirteen's Huntington's. Yay!…But I hope you don't think that I'm going to make it that easy. Next chapter begins _Last Resort_, I wonder where _**that **_will fall into my _House_ timeline? *insert villainous laughter_*._

I don't know how I feel about this chapter. It feels kind of…off. Maybe because there was no really Cadley interaction or maybe because it was considerably lighter than the last few chapters. Whatever the case, it just doesn't feel like my usual style. Hmm.

You know the drill: Love it? Hate it? Somewhat in the middle? Let me know.


	9. The Man with the Gun

**Spoilers!**: _Last Resort_…I'm so excited. Also, the longest chapter so far (11 pages on Word). But I'm not sure that I did the episode justice. The second part (also the last part) is going to be pretty long as well.

**A/N**: How awesome was Olivia Wilde in last night's episode _(The Greater Good)_? But damn you Foreteen for not breaking up yet!

**A/N2**: This episode is kind of hard to write. It isn't so much to do with the content as it is the fact that I am working on another Cadley fic and am in the middle of writing around this episode. I don't want it to feel too repetitive for when I post that story.

**A/N3**: I will, obviously, add and change some things to the events of _Last Resort_ (especially with the dialogue and minor interactions), but the major things are exactly the same as the episode. Just giving you a heads up. Also, you get some Alex and Thirteen's dad here too.

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**Chapter Nine- The Man with the Gun**

**Friday, 5:45 am**

Remy opens the door to her quiet apartment and heaves a sigh before dropping down on her couch. Since the breakup almost two weeks ago, she hasn't been able to bring herself to sleep in the bedroom by herself. However, that didn't stop her from passing out in someone else's bed a couple hours ago.

The despair over losing Allison and Alex had quickly driven her to indulge in the very activities that the people at the hospital had been accusing her of. In fact, the reason for her late arrival at the apartment is a direct result of going to a club and going to some random girl's apartment. Hadley is just glad that she doesn't have to be back at the hospital until 9:00

Just as the sobering doctor begins to drift off to sleep, the obnoxious sounds of Van Halen's _Hot for Teacher_ begins to emanate from her cell phone. Thirteen makes a mental note to never leave her cell phone laying out around House ever again. She groans as she pulls it out of her back pocket to answer.

"What?" Remy grouses rudely, expecting it to be House calling to harass her.

"Dr. Hadley?" The person on the other end questions, unsure if the irritable person on the other end of the line is the right person.

At this, Thirteen sits up straight. "Dr. Cuddy. Hi," she greets her boss' boss, deciding to just outright kill House when he isn't paying attention.

"I was just wondering where you are. It's just after 6:00 and you're supposed to be in the Clinic," the dean says, her voice betraying nothing.

Remy smacks herself in the forehead, immediately regretting the action. "Right. I got a late start, but I'm on my way," she lies as she stands up and goes to take a quick shower.

"Of course you did," Cuddy skeptically acknowledges. "See you soon Dr. Hadley," she says before hanging up.

"Shit. Shit. Shit," Thirteen grumbles as she goes to her room to grab some clean clothes before getting in the shower.

The brunette completely forgot about her hellacious Clinic hours. Ever since the whole 'Spencer' debacle, Cuddy has issued her own brand of punishment by giving her horrible hours. She completely blocked out that she had to be there at 6:00 am.

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**7:45 am**

"I, for one, am glad that you're taking my advice," Robert tells the blonde woman across from him at the breakfast table.

"I know you are," Allison smirks as she takes another sip of her coffee, waiting for Alex to finish getting ready for school.

"So, are you going to talk to her tonight or tomorrow?" The older man questions, no longer pretending to be interested in his newspaper.

"Tomorrow. I spoke to House yesterday and they currently have no cases and, apparently Cuddy is still punishing her with god-awful Clinic hours. Remy will be busy in the Clinic all day, but she has tomorrow off," the ER doctor explains.

"I see you have this pretty well thought out," the oldest of the Hadley clan nods.

Allison sets down her now empty cup of coffee and considers the other man before dropping her gaze. "I just feel guilty for pushing her away as soon as everything came out," she vaguely states, not knowing where Alexis is at. "Everything just happened all at once and, I guess, I didn't know how to handle it. I don't know," she breathes out.

Robert neatly folds up his newspaper and sets it down on the table. "When Ann first started displaying symptoms of Huntington's, she didn't tell me either. I didn't even know she had it for the longest time and she tried to push me away too," he informs the blonde in an attempt to show that he knows exactly what she's going through.

"She did the same kind of stuff Remy is doing?" Cameron wonders in a quiet tone.

"I found out that Ann cheated on me several times. We even got pretty close to getting a divorce…which is when she told me that she was dying," he goes on to tell her.

"She kept you in the dark throughout most of your marriage?" Allison questions incredulously.

"Yes and I resented her for it for the longest time," he confirms.

"Would…would you still have married her had you known before?"

Robert smiles reflectively. "Absolutely. I loved her from the moment I first laid eyes on her. Remy always made fun of our clichéd 'love at first sight' explanation…but I'm pretty certain that she understands it now," he pointedly tells the other woman.

Allison offers a blushing half-smile in response to his words. "So, you think I'm doing the right thing in trying to fix things," she says, even though it sounds more like a question.

"I can't answer that for you," Robert tells her, earning him a frown from the other woman. "She told you before you started dating so-"

"But I already knew before," Cameron cuts him off.

"Be that as it may, she didn't know that you already knew," at this, he furrows his brows and mentally checks to make sure that it made sense. "She wanted you to know what to expect. She didn't want to leave you in the dark and blindside you. And, no matter what she was doing for the past several months, I honestly believe that she never cheated on you," he encourages the younger woman gently.

"Ally! Are you ready?" An excited eight year old voice questions from the living room.

"Coming Lex," Allison replies as she stands up. Robert stands as well, taking her empty coffee cup with him to the sink. "Thank you, Rob," she says quietly to the other man.

The older man smiles softly before squeezing Cameron's shoulder in reassurance. "Good luck. I think you'll need it considering how stubborn my daughter can be," he smirks, earning a chuckle from the other woman.

"Alright, Kiddo, let's get you to school," the blonde woman grins good-naturedly as she ushers the small brunette out the door.

"You're in a good mood," the little girl points out suspiciously.

"Is that a problem?" Cameron arches an eyebrow in response.

"Aside from the fact that you haven't been in a good mood since before I went to Connecticut three weeks ago? Then no, it's not a problem," Alexis replies.

"Now you're just being a smart-alec," the ER doctor points out, fearing that the little girl is going to end up with the same sense of humor as her mother. Allison isn't sure if she can take that much dry sarcasm. _But it would be so worth it_. She decides.

The pair are silent for a few moments as Allison continues the short drive to Alex's school. "Is Mom getting sick?" She asks quietly.

"Not that I know of," the blonde answers, curious as to where that question came from.

"I'm not talking about, like, a cold or something. I heard you and Grandpa talking and…is she getting sick from that disease she has?" She clarifies her question.

Once again, Alexis has managed to make the ER doctor uncomfortable by being so damned perceptive. "Lexi, I…I'm not sure. It's possible that she is, but I don't know," she replies, being mostly honest. Alex simply nods dejectedly before turning her attention outside the window.

Allison sighs. Remy used to always handle Alex's tough questions. It always amazed the blonde how her girlfriend could answer a hard question honestly, but in a way that it didn't seem so bad. She would give anything to be able to talk to the little girl in the same way. However, she just supposes that Remy had to learn how to do it through years of practice.

"I miss Mom," Alex whispers loud enough for the other woman to hear. She hasn't seen her for three weeks and it's obvious that it's effecting her.

_Me too._ Cameron acknowledges before deciding that it couldn't hurt to give the girl a little hope. "I'm happy because I'm going to talk to Remy today or tomorrow," she informs the eight year old.

"You're finally going to make up?" Is the hopeful inquiry.

"That's the plan," she says, leaving room for error in case 'the plan' doesn't quite work out.

"Good," Alexis smiles her first smile in a week in response. They pull up to the school and she reaches over and hugs the ER doctor. "Thanks Ally," she says before pulling away.

Cameron smiles as she watches the eight year old go off to join her friends (and neighbors back at the apartment) Ben and Brian. She puts her car in drive and heads off to the hospital. Hopefully she'll be able to corner Thirteen long enough to see if they can meet tomorrow for a talk. She'd hate to have to ask via text message…that's just so tacky.

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**8:15 am**

Remy is annoyed and, possibly, still a little drunk from last night. When she left her apartment just after 6:00 am, she had the good luck to run into Ann, who she had been able to studiously avoid for the last month and a half. Of course the first thing she asked was where Allison and Alex have been. She'd been forced to lie and say that, after visiting with her grandparents in New Haven, she wanted to spend some time over at Robert's too. Then, she used the old standby of Allison simply being busy in the ER and working crazy hours for the past two weeks. The last thing she wants is for her friend to know what she has _**really **_been up to recently.

The brunette's irritation is further complicated by the fact that she is currently removing an orange Tic Tac from a 15 year old boy's nose. Upon arrival, the kid's mom tried to defend him and he tried to defend himself, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Having seen her fair share of bizarre occurrences in hospitals, she has since learned that it's best not to ask questions.

Exiting the exam room, Remy is already trying to ward off a headache caused by stupid patients, alcohol, and sleep deprivation. An overweight man walking over to her doesn't help matters any.

"Hey, Doctor. I have been here for over an hour waiting for a simple refill on my migraine medication," the man informs her.

"We'll get to you as soon as we can," Hadley informs him in a neutral tone.

"You can get to me now!" 'Overweight-Man-with-a-Headache' (as she has named him in her head) shouts at her.

"You're not an emergency," she points out as she continues to make her way to the Nurse's Station for a new chart. _Hopefully he'll get the message this time and kindly fuck off._

"This isn't an emergency room," he retorts angrily.

_I guess not_. Hadley thinks ruefully about him getting the message. She briefly considers filling his prescription and going to fill it herself just so she can swipe some of his pills. "You're not going to get out of here any faster if you keep pissing me off," she snarks instead, her bitchery winning out over her need to get rid of her escalating headache. With an indigant scoff, he turns and walks away. _Finally!_

Foreman cautiously approaches the irritable brunette. "Do you have a minute?" He asks as the other woman is reaching for a file.

"No," she tells him as she indicates the packed Clinic. "This is just a routine exam. What else you got?" She asks the nurse, hoping to get some of the more serious issues out of the way first.

"I'm consulting on a trial for a new Huntington's drug," the older doctor presses on.

"While it's true that 'no' sometimes means 'yes', in this context…" Remy trails off sarcastically hoping that Foreman, much like Aggravating-Migraine-Guy, will get the hint and kindly fuck off as well.

"It's beginning to show real results and I'm sure that I can get you in," he offers, trying to ignore her caustic tone. Hadley pauses a moment before turning and walking off. "Are you even doing anything about your disease?" He then questions in frustration.

"No…and I'm not looking for a consult either," Thirteen snaps before heading off to take care of another patient.

Foreman sighs at his teammate's obstinacy, hoping that he could get the younger doctor to agree. He told Cameron the day before that he would talk to Remy about it, but he didn't account for her brushing him off. The thought occurs to him that, perhaps, the younger woman has simply given up.

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**8:25 am**

As Allison pulls up in front of the hospital, she breathes out a sigh of relief at being able to make it there at all. On her way to work, there had been a massive pileup on the freeway. So, as she makes her way into the hospital, she is dreading the inevitable influx of patients into the ER due to the accident. She isn't, however, expecting to see a stampede of some of the more able-bodied patients (along with a few doctors and nurses as well) heading for the exits, being ushered out by security.

Cautiously, Cameron pushes her way through the throng of people to stand in the rapidly emptying ER. She curiously glances over into the Clinic to see if they have the same affliction as the rest of the hospital. The Clinic is being cleared out too.

"Dr. Cameron, you shouldn't be here," Cuddy tells the younger woman as she approaches her from behind.

"Why? What's going on?" Allison asks her boss, unsure why she should leave.

The dean hesitates for a moment, knowing that the blonde is going to panic. However, she knows that the younger woman shouldn't find out from anyone else. "A patient has just taken several people hostage in my office," she informs her quietly.

"What?" Cameron asks incredulously. "Do we know who's in there?" She questions, glancing back over to the closed door.

"Yes," Cuddy bites her bottom lip, trying to be deliberately obtuse.

At the other woman's tone, Allison feels her veins fill up with ice water as realization sets in. "Is Remy in there?" She questions with a calmness that belies her internal turmoil.

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In Cuddy's office, the gunman is pointing his gun at a group of people as he orders them to block off all of the doors. All Remy can think of is how all of this yelling is doing nothing for her headache.

"That door you're blocking goes to Cuddy's private bathroom you idiot. You may want to leave it open in case any of these sick people need to use it," House snaps at the other man.

The balding gunman turns back to the people by the bathroom, who have stopped at the news of it not being any kind of escape. "Do it!" He orders, waving the gun at them for effect. Then, he grabs his stack of medical files.

"You know, you probably should have watched the end of _Dog Day Afternoon_ before coming up with this plan," the diagnostician snarks at the man in the suit with the gun.

Thirteen watches from her corner of the room. She closes her eyes and silently curses whatever deity that forced her into a room with a crazed gunman and her insensitive prick of a boss. Without a doubt, she knows that at least one person is going to get shot because of House's behavior. Her attention is brought back to the conversation as the gunman grabs her boss' cane and throws it across the room.

"Shut up and do your job!" The balding man shouts before forcing the doctor to take his files.

Not intimidated, House drops the files unceremoniously on Cuddy's desk before going over to the nurse in the room. "Give me your stethoscope," he orders before going back over to the armed man to listen to his lungs.

"Hey! My wife feels like she's going to be sick," a tall, burly looking man announces from beside his pregnant wife. He is patently ignored as the phone rings and Jason reaches over to pick it up and drop it back down on the cradle.

"If you ask me, keeping an open line of communication is the best way to resolve conflict," House challenges the patient.

"As if you would know," Remy scoffs from her position.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle a screw up. Keep your opinions to yourself," House snaps at her, effectively quieting the brunette. "So, your wife leave you because you're sick? That's why I heard Thirteen's girlfriend left her?" He redirects his attention to the man before him, ignoring the scowl from his Fellow on the other side of the room.

"I was never married," Jason replies, casting an odd look towards the other woman House was speaking too, wondering if that's 'Thirteen'.

House takes a moment to be shocked at the concept of being wrong. "Give me a match," he orders the gunman.

"I don't have one," the bald man replies after, unnecessarily checking his pockets.

"There may be a lighter in here," Thirteen offers as she goes to check Cuddy's desk drawer.

"There isn't," her boss barks before she even has a chance to get it open. Heaven forbid his prank be revealed without the owner of the desk being present. "You with the nicotine stains on your teeth," he points to the other man in the suit standing by a window.

"I don't smoke you jerk," the yellow-toothed man replies irritably, making a mental note to make an appointment for a teeth-bleaching.

Remy watches the boy next to her reach into a pocket inside his jacket only to receive a gun in his face. "Dude, chill. I was only reaching for a lighter," he defends himself shakily.

"Yeah, what are the chances of two morons sneaking a weapon into a hospital in the same day?" House questions rhetorically as he reaches for the lighter.

Judging by House's weakly explained diagnosis of pulmonary scleroderma, Hadley is somewhat hopeful that this will all be over soon. Then, with a smirk, she hears him suggest Propofol which is not a treatment for scleroderma, but an anesthetic. The phone rings again and House is able to answer it and put it on speakerphone.

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Back in the Clinic, Allison is hovering around the phone next to Cuddy and trying not to ask a hundred and one questions in an effort to find out if her ex-girlfriend is okay.

"What's going on in there House?" The dean of medicine questions the doctor. She casts a sidelong glance to the woman beside her. "And is everyone in there okay?" She adds, earning a thankful smile in return.

"_Aside from all the sick people in here, we're all peachy," _House snorts from his end of the line. _"We just need some Propofol to prove a diagnosis of pulmonary scleroderma," _he informs his boss.

"Okay," Cuddy readily agrees. Cameron is simply happy to hear that no one is hurt.

"_Send one of the guards-"_

"_No! No guards," _another voice, one that can only belong to the gunman, pipes in.

"Then do you have a better idea?" The dean wonders impatiently.

There is a slight pause. _"Is that Dr. Cuddy?" _Jason asks House. There is another moment of silence. _"Then I know what she looks like. I want Dr. Cuddy to deliver the drugs," _he orders.

Allison rolls her eyes. "You keep a picture of yourself in your office?" She questions her boss incredulously. Cuddy doesn't acknowledge her. On her side of the phone, Thirteen smiles at the sound of the blonde ER doctor's voice.

"_You should send her topless…to make sure she isn't wearing a wire or any concealed weapons," _House suggests to Jason before the call ends.

"Dr. Cameron, could you-"

"I'll go get it," Allison cuts off the older woman before she has a chance to finish her question. She quickly heads over the pharmacy to grab a small vial of the Propofol and a syringe before heading back to the Clinic.

Cuddy takes the drug and needle and heads over to her office. For her part, Cameron watches as her boss delivers the drug, craning her neck in hopes of catching a glimpse of a certain brunette ex-girlfriend of hers. Jason and Cuddy block her view.

"This should work, right?" The blonde asks the older woman as she gets back over to her.

"Unless House finds a way to screw it up," Cuddy retorts as the pair wait for a sign that all is well. They don't have to wait long until the heavy sound of a body crashing can be heard. Cameron breathes a sigh of relief…until she hears the sounds of a gun going off and someone screaming in the background.

"Remy!" Allison gasps before trying to make a run for the office. Luckily, the security staff finally get into gear and one of the guards manages to grab the ER doctor before she can get too far.

Cuddy, for her part, appears a little shaken as well. "Dr. Cameron, there is nothing you can do. You need to calm down," she says to the blonde in a soothing manner as she goes to call into her office and find out what is going on. An official looking man in a SWAT uniform walks up as Cuddy is waiting for the other line to pick up.

"We heard a gunshot," Cameron offers as soon as he approaches.

"And no one is answering the phone," the dean adds, shooting a glare towards the other woman.

The SWAT captain, Lt. Bowman, reaches over and hangs up the phone before turning to the men behind him. "Secure the perimeter," he orders. "Do either of you have a husband or loved one in there?" He questions the pair, adding 'loved one' after noticing the distasteful look on the blonde's face at the use of 'husband'.

"Uh, no," Cuddy replies and Allison hesitates a moment too long.

"If you have a loved one in there, you need to leave," Lt. Bowman orders her, prepared to have the blonde physically removed if necessary. Too many of these things go awry because of panicky bystanders involved with hostages.

Cameron is reluctant to leave. "Go help the other doctors with the patients too sick or injured to get sent to another hospital," Cuddy directs her, knowing that it would be next to impossible to get the other woman to leave with Thirteen still trapped in the office.

The blonde doctor nods dumbly before turning and leaving to do whatever she can to help get her mind off of the woman in the other room being held at gunpoint.

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**9:30 am**

Robert, finally having finished reading the comics and Op-Ed pieces in the paper, decides that he really should be getting to work. As he stands up from his position at the kitchen table, he stretches and groans at the slight twinge in his lower back.

"I really _**am **_getting old," he muses wryly. The older Hadley then goes into his office and grabs his laptop. Today, he wants to be able to watch the news as he works on the editorial for the _New York Times_.

Dropping down onto his couch, he reaches over and plugs in the cord for his laptop before setting it down. Reaching over for the remote while he waits for the computer to boot up, his mind wanders to his daughter and Dr. Cameron. He thinks everything will work out as he flips on the television.

"_-a hostage situation at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The gunman is said to be holding nine people, including a 15 year old boy and a pregnant woman, in an office. Two of the hostages are said to be doctors and one is a nurse," _a well-dressed woman in her early-thirties announces from the news desk.

"_That's right Tracy and…" _a man from outside of the hospital trails off as he places a hand over his earpiece. _"I have just received word that there has been a shot fired from inside the office. No news on whether or not someone was actually injured. We will-"_

Robert picks his jaw up off the floor long enough to mute the television and grab his cell phone. He quickly dials a familiar number and holds his breath as he waits for answer.

The phone clicks as voicemail picks up. _"This is Remy. I am too busy to talk to you right now. Either that or I'm screening my calls. Leave a message and maybe I'll get back to you," _the message picks up. The woman's father rolls his eyes at the fact that she still hasn't changed that message from over six months ago.

"Sweetie, I just saw everything on the news. I don't know if you're one of those people being held hostage but please, _**please **_call me back when you get this. I just need to know that you're alright," Robert rushes out in one breath before hanging up. He un-mutes the television and glues himself to the screen to hear any news.

Across town, a lone cell phone in the hospital's locker room starts vibrating to tell its absent owner that there is one missed message.

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Thirteen decides to get to assisting her boss once he determined that Jason has hyperacusis. This seems to indicate more towards the 'neurological condition' suggested on the Wall of Possible Diagnoses. She moves to stand next to House as he orders the patient to give them a nice 'mugshot smile'.

Remy notices that it is obviously weaker on the left side of Jason's face. "Left facial palsy," she points out to her boss.

"My guess would be postherpetic neuralgia," House muses.

"You think I have herpes?" Jason growls, offended. If the circumstances were any different, Remy would have laughed. "Prove it," he orders, waving a gun in House's face.

"The only test we could use to prove it is dangerous and painful whereas the treatment is totally safe and painless," House replies, hoping that they could just get this over with without having to run anymore stupid tests.

"No, not without getting the test first," Jason barks.

"I'll order the test. It only hurts if it's negative," the other man informs him before the phone rings and House puts it on speaker. "I need 200 mgs of Capsaicin," are the first words out of his mouth.

"Two syringes this time. We'll exchange the drug for my blood and medical records," the gunman offers.

"_Now Jason," _Lt. Bowman slowly responds as if the other man is a child. _"If you want us to give you the drug, you're going to have to give us something more," _he attempts to negotiate.

"What do you want?" The suspicious man questions.

"We're going to need a hostage," the SWAT captain replies calmly.

Jason takes a cursory glance around the room. "You can have two," he says. "But Dr. Cuddy has to be the one to deliver it," he quickly tacks on.

Bowman hesitates as he glances over to the dean. _"I'll have to think about it," _he growls into the phone before hanging up.

Back in the Clinic, Cuddy listens as the Lieutenant describes what the situation is and what the hostage-taker wants. "Okay," she easily agrees.

"'Okay'?" Bowman scoffs. "Not 'no way' or 'it's not my job'?" He wonders.

"It _**is **_my job!" Cuddy shouts. "This is my hospital and those are my employees and patients in there," she corrects him.

The other man narrows his eyes. "I'll make the call and you make the delivery," he says neutrally.

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**10:35 am**

Allison is sitting alone upstairs in the Diagnostics Office, staring at the cell phone in the middle of the table and waiting for news. When both House's current and former teams were in here doing the differential, she could have sobbed in relief at the sound of her ex-girlfriend's voice as she realized that Remy hadn't been the person shot.

However, the blonde felt a stab of disappointment surface when, out of nowhere, Chase stood up and excused himself from the meeting. She doesn't even know why she was surprised by his behavior in the first place. Maybe, given her current situation with Remy and Alexis, she feels like she needs all the support she can get at this point. He's the closest person to her that knows what's going on.

Her musings are cut short by a tentative knock on the door. "Dr. Taub?" She furrows her brows at the presence of the short doctor standing in the doorway.

"They are going to try another test. Jason is trading two hostages, his blood, and his records," Taub informs the other woman. "I just thought you would want to know," he adds.

"Do we know what hostages?" Allison questions, irrationally hoping that her ex-girlfriend is one of them.

"No, but Lt. Bowman seems to think that it will be the man that was shot and the one used as a guinea pig for the Propofol."

"Right," the blonde sighs.

"We are going to need all the help we can get and, since you're the head of the ER, I felt that it was only right to have you come down and help handle it," Taub smirks subtly, knowing that, even if Cameron has a conflict of interest, she will have every right to be downstairs.

"Thank you Dr. Taub," Allison smiles as she stands up to go down to the Clinic.

Before she passes him, Taub reaches out and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. He wait's a moment for the ER doctor turn around. "She'll be okay, Dr. Cameron. We all know how much of a hard-ass Remy can be," he attempts to reassure her.

Allison smiles slightly at the gesture. "What is House testing for this time?" She questions in an attempt to change the topic.

"Postherpetic neuralgia. He ordered 200 mgs of Capsaicin…and two syringes," the older man answers, adding the last part as an afterthought.

"Two? Why two?" She wonders curiously.

"Jason wants to use it on someone else first to make sure they won't try to knock him out like they did the first time."

"Remy," Cameron whispers to herself, a sense of dread overwhelming her senses.

"With seven people to choose from, I highly doubt Jason is going to pick Thirteen to be his little test subject. If House is being his usual charming self, I wouldn't be surprised if _**he **_was the one to get it," the other doctor tries to joke.

"He won't have to pick someone because she'll volunteer," Cameron tells him. If her observations since the breakup are anything to go by, she knows that the brunette wouldn't hesitate to step up.

"Do you really think that she would-"

"Yes. Why wouldn't I think that?" Cameron challenges him.

Taub doesn't get a chance to reply as the pair make their way into the Clinic just in time to help receive the two injured hostages from the office.

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I am, honestly, not sure if I like how this chapter turned out. It feels kind of weird to me. Maybe it's because I followed the episode a little too closely. Then again, it could be because I haven't really had Thirteen and Cameron interact for a few chapters. Don't worry though because that will soon change.

A little bit of a head's up though, the events of _Last Resort _I consider to be the proverbial 'rock bottom'. However, if you think for one second that I am going to make the ride back easy, then you don't know me very well. Thirteen and Cameron aren't going to just make up and get back together after _Last Resort_. That would be too easy. They're going to have to work for it.

In respect to the currently airing storyline (which you didn't spoil for me _**Pink Starship**_), I _**am **_planning on doing a lot of the same stuff that they showed with the placebo and stuff. I actually already have a mental outline of how I want it to play out. _Big Baby_ just inspired me to write Thirteen teaching Cuddy how to be a mom is all. The trial stuff is going to be fun and, bonus, it has the added benefit of _**not **_resulting in Foreteen!

Anyways, tell me if you think that I did as bad of a job translating this episode into my version of the _House_-universe as I think I did. If you think it doesn't suck, you can tell me that too. Either way works for me.


	10. The Martyr

**Spoilers!**: _Last Resort_…the last half.

**A/N**: Just like with the last chapter, I mark the time a lot because I think it gives everything more of a sense of urgency…or something like that.

**A/N2**: So, another long and intense chapter, but Thirteen and Cameron actually get to share a scene or two together this time…and Thirteen's dad pops up a few times as well.

**A/N3**: For whatever reason, I feel like I like this chapter more than the last one. It's probably because I got to deviate a bit from the actual episode. Either way, here it is…

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**Chapter Ten- The Martyr **

**11:30 am**

"I'll do it," Remy volunteers herself to be the one injected with the Capsaicin in an effort to spare the other patients.

"This is a little more risky than partying and having drugged-up sex with strange women," House snaps at her. "And I can think of at least three reasons why you shouldn't do this," he pointedly informs her.

"I really don't want to hear any of them," the brunette retorts as she sheds her lab coat and walks around the desk to face him.

The older man glares down at her. "Well, I don't care what you want right now," he scowls as he reaches for the syringe. "Aside from the obvious fact that you have a degenerative drug unfriendly illness," he begins, uncapping the needle. "You have an eight-year old daughter to think about," is the second reason he lists, poking the needle into the bottle of Capsaicin and filling the syringe. "And you have someone that, for reasons that I'll never understand, still loves you," he finishes, pulling the needle out of the bottle.

"Everything's not some fascinating character flaw," Hadley rolls her eyes as she lifts the back of her shirt up slightly. Without warning, House plunges the needle into her lower back, almost spitefully. He pushes down on the end of the syringe to inject her with the drug.

Remy's face quickly scrunches up in pain. "Ow," she hisses before doubling over the front of the desk.

"I would've bet money you had herpes," the older man snarks as she moves away from the desk and unceremoniously slides down to the floor, her back to the wall.

House picks up the other syringe and repeats the process of filling it before going over to Jason. "You said if it doesn't hurt, then it's that herpes thing, right?" Jason questions as he stands up and eyes the needle and the woman on the floor that is clearly in pain.

"Right. And if it's something else, then that will be you," the other man retorts, indicating Thirteen. "Either way, it's a win-win situation," he grumbles before sticking the needle in Jason's side and injecting the Capsaicin. Jason collapses in pain.

"Crap," Remy understates from her spot on the floor, knowing that they are back to the drawing board…or, in this case, Cuddy's wall.

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Allison is sitting in an exam room in the Clinic poring over the patient's medical files for anything that can help her determine what Jason has. She chose the Clinic over her office because she is closer to Cuddy's office and, therefore, Remy, than she would be in her own office.

With a sigh, the ER doctor removes her glasses and rubs her eyes. With Foreman running labs and Taub and Kutner checking the patient's home, she knows that she got stuck with the files because of her relationship with Thirteen. They are all working on this in the event that it isn't postherpetic neuralgia. With the knowledge that there isn't too much more she can do right now, she picks up her cell phone and dials.

The phone doesn't ring a full one time before it is picked up. _"Allison, what the hell is going on?!" _Robert Hadley demands as soon as he answers the phone.

The blonde cringes at his tone. "What have you heard?" She questions him right back, wanting to know what the news is reporting.

"_Shots were fired a couple hours ago. Nine people were taken hostage and two of them were doctors. Is Remy okay? I tried calling her phone but…" _Robert trails off uncertainly.

"She's…she's one of the hostages," the blonde regretfully informs him. "Dr. House and Remy are the two doctors in there with the gunman, but neither of them were shot," she says, delivering the only good news she has on the matter.

The older man is silent for a moment, overwhelmed at the prospect of losing his only child. _"What does this guy want?" _He whispers into the line.

"He wants a diagnosis," Cameron explains, her heart going out to the man that, in the last year and a half, come to be like a second father to her.

"_What am I…What should I do about Alexis?" _Robert wonders aloud.

Allison takes a moment to be shocked that he would be the one asking her for advice about his granddaughter. "We don't want to panic her right now. She is already worrying herself sick over this thing with Remy and me and I don't want to add to that unless things get out of control," she tries to rationalize, hoping that she's doing the right thing.

"_You're right," _Robert sighs shakily.

Before Cameron can reply, her phone chimes at her, signaling another call coming in. "Rob, I'm sorry but House is calling me. I'll give you a call when I find anything out," she promises him.

"_Okay," _the other man agrees before hanging up. Allison picks up the other call and prepares for the worse.

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Remy sits with her back against the wall. Even though she can still feel the drug burning its way through her body, the pain is, slowly but surely, beginning to ebb away. She is understandably distracted by her own situation when her boss pulls out his cell phone and calls up the others in a conference call and put on speakerphone.

"Thirteen was jackass-y enough to volunteer," House reports irritably at Kutner's inane question. The mention of her nickname results in the brunette glances up.

"_What the hell were you thinking?!" _The unmistakable voice of Dr. Cameron cuts through Remy's haze.

"I'm fine by the way," Hadley responds in a voice just loud enough to be heard by the doctors listening in.

"_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, but-"_

"You lovebirds can solve your drama in you own time. We have a crazed gunman to diagnose," House cuts off Cameron's attempted apology.

Thirteen rolls her eyes, even though she is secretly touched by the blonde's concern. She directs her attention to Jason and takes in his current physical status.

The brunette pays half attention to the phone conversation as she continues to scrutinize the man keeping her hostage. Hearing that Jason's white cell count is normal and his mother, according to House and Kutner, is ugly, House announces that the problem is either heart-related or cancer.

"It's his heart," Hadley contributes with a furrowed brow, gaining House's attention. "He has a distended jugular vein," she explains her weak outburst.

The older doctor sets his phone down, leaving it on for the others to listen in, as he checks Jason's pulse and attempts to give him a carotid massage to get his pulse down. He frowns at it doesn't seem to be working.

"We need the defibrillator paddles," the nurse points out.

"Or we could just do nothing," the pregnant woman's husband stupidly replies, making him one of the most hated people in the room, next to Jason of course.

"Give me the paddles," Jason demands, pushing House's hands away from his neck.

"If you're holding the gun when we use the paddles, your muscles will contract and you'll pull the trigger," House rationally informs him.

"I don't care. If you don't give me the paddles, I'll shoot _**you**_," the balding gunman threatens, leveling it at House.

"You won't shoot me because you need me," the doctor replies.

"We should just let you die," the idiot continues to speak, earning himself a gun in the face.

Remy, sensing the situation getting quickly out of hand, wracks her brain for an alternative. "We could slow his heart down with drugs," she offers before the husband says something that will get him killed. Jason and House seem to consider this. "I can go get them," she even offers, knowing that there is probably a crash cart near the door with the necessary drugs…just in case something else goes wrong.

"No. No one else leaves the room," Jason snaps at the suggestion.

"Just shoot someone else if she doesn't come back," House shrugs…making him more hated than the obnoxious husband.

Jason walks over and grabs the teenage boy. "If you aren't back in thirty seconds, I'm shooting him," he says to Thirteen. The brunette stands up on shaky legs before going over to the door. Sharing a final look with House, she opens the door and walks out.

Outside of the office, Remy quickly goes over to the crash cart that she predicted would be by the door and rifles through it to find the adenosine. Finding it, she chances a look up towards the main area of the Clinic. There are several SWAT team members trying to urge her to them. From somewhere in the middle of them all, she manages to lock eyes with Allison, her cell phone glued to the side of her head as she listens in on the conversations inside of the office. They keep eye contact before Cameron nods slightly at some unanswered question that passes between them.

Back inside Cuddy's office, the small group of hostages are waiting with an ever-increasing sense of dread for the other woman's return.

"Where is she?" The woman who threw up earlier questions nervously.

"She's not coming back," House decides.

"She'll be back," the nurse disagrees.

"She'd be stupid to come back, even if it meant someone else would die. She's a single mother with an eight year old daughter to think about," the doctor explains why the other woman should flee to safety, no trace of sarcasm or malice in his tone. He would hate to admit it, but after reading through the files on the brunette that his PI supplied, he can't really find it in himself to be completely heartless in regards to her.

"She'll be back," the nurse repeats firmly.

"She shouldn't. Her life is more important to her than anyone else's," he continues.

"She's a doctor. She cares about us too," the other woman continues to challenge him.

"No, she's human. If you don't think that your life is more important than someone else's, then sign your donor card and kill yourself," House snaps back at her.

"Time's up," Jason says before cocking the gun and positioning himself to shoot the kid.

"Don't do it. Shoot me instead," the nurse steps in, trying to prove a point to House. Jason shrugs and repositions the gun at her. She clenches her eyes shut. "Please, just give her more time!" She pleads.

Before the trigger can be pulled, Remy reenters the office and slams the door behind her. She wordlessly hands House the syringe of adenosine. He prepares the syringe for Jason.

"She gets it first," Jason stops him and motions towards Thirteen.

House doesn't bother to turn towards the younger doctor. "Her heart is beating at a normal rate, not racing like yours," he doesn't notice her rolling up to sleeve to see that she's tied her own arm off in preparation.

"I need to make sure that it won't kill me or interact badly with the other thing you gave me," Jason obviously explains himself.

The older man opens his mouth to reply as he turns just in time to watch the dark-haired woman inject herself with a second syringe that she grabbed from the crash cart. She drops the needle and unties her arm just in time to blackout and collapse to the floor.

House merely sighs before turning his attention back to Jason. "Congratulations, the martyr's heart is beating dangerously slow," he snarks before injecting the other man with the adenosine. Jason's heart returns back to normal and he takes a seat.

"You're sweating," House frowns at Jason.

"I did almost die," the gunman obviously points out.

"You're only sweating on one side of your face," the doctor elaborates. "That means that there must be a tumor pressing on your sympathetic nerves."

"What does that mean?" The patient questions in confusion.

"It means that you have lung cancer," House answers him simply.

Remy groans as the nurse walks over. "She's coming to, but her pulse is slow," the nurse unnecessarily reports.

House turns to the other doctor. "You are really stupid," he informs his employee with barely concealed irritation before turning his attention to the teen and the nurse. "Walk her around the office to help get her heart rate back up," he orders them.

"I need proof that it's cancer," Jason interrupts, trying to get back to the bigger issue.

"Of course you do!" House snaps.

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**1:30 pm**

"_I just heard that two more hostages were released," _Robert opens as soon as the phone picks up.

"I know," Cameron sighs into her cell. "It was a pregnant woman and some other woman," she answers his unasked question.

"_Shit," _Robert curses under his breath. _"Do we know what's going on?" _He then asks, hoping that this is almost over.

"Jason and the rest of them are going upstairs to do a CT scan," Cameron offers up, debating on whether or not to tell him that his daughter is playing a guinea pig.

"_Has anyone been hurt? The news isn't really telling us anything," _he continues.

Allison bites her bottom lip nervously. "Every time they go to try a drug on him, Jason is having Remy take it first," she hesitantly supplies, knowing that he has a right to know what's happening.

"_Is she okay?" _Robert asks hurriedly.

"Yeah, she's fine," the blonde states. Though Remy _**wasn't **_fine when she first used each drug, she's okay now. Allison feels no need to tell him since it isn't an issue anymore.

"_Where are you at right now?" _Robert asks the blonde woman in an attempt to help calm his nerves.

"I'm meeting the rest of the team in the Diagnostics Office…in case House is wrong," Allison tells the other man. "I'll call you back when we know more," she says as she approaches the door.

"_Thanks Ally," _he sighs before ending the call.

Cameron places the cell phone in the breast pocket of her lab coat before she pushes open the door and joins the others.

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**2:15 pm**

Remy watches tiredly as Nurse Regina and the pregnant woman's husband flee the room. Several tense moments after informing Jason that he'd have to give up his gun for the CT Scan to work, he relented and turned the gun over to House.

As Thirteen and House run Jason through for another CT Scan, House notices the teen still in the room. "Why the hell are you still here?" House questions rudely.

"It's safe now and I might as well. I'm curious," the boy shrugs and Remy rolls her eyes.

In the back of the room, the phone is ringing. With barely a cursory glance in the direction, it is ignored. Moments later, scan complete, Hadley goes over to the monitor to look at the results as Jason climbs out of the scanner.

"Can I see the tumor before those SWAT guys come in?" Jason tentatively questions as he approaches the two doctors.

"No," House sighs, turning the screen around for Jason to see. "There isn't one. I still don't know what's wrong with you," he grimly reports.

"Thanks for trying," the other man grumbles, his shoulders sagging. Making a quick decision, House hands the balding man back his gun.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The kid shouts at House and Remy drops her jaw in disbelief.

The phone continues ringing and House limps over and picks it up. "He overpowered me and got the gun back," he snaps into the line before hanging back up.

"You're a coward," Remy growls. "You'd rather risk other people's lives to find your answer than to not know and just be another ordinary doctor," she accuses him bitterly.

At this, the older man's eyes narrow dangerously as he begins to hobble back over. "No, you're the coward. You're so afraid to die, but you are doing everything you can to make it come sooner so you feel like you have some control. You have pushed everyone around you so far away that you have no one left that cares anymore and-"

"Hey! Can we focus here?" Jason interrupts the older doctor's rant as he waves his gun in the air.

"Um, can I just leave?" The kid wonders quietly from the other side of the room.

"I guess you should've thought of that when he didn't have the gun," Hadley snaps at the kid before she goes and drops angrily onto the bed of the CT scanner, sending her boss an evil glare as she does so.

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Wilson and the other fellows (current and former…with the exception of Chase) are all gathered in House's office. At the first ring of the phone, Wilson leans over and hits speakerphone to answer.

"Are you insane?!" Cameron shouts into the line, stealing the words right out of Wilson's mouth. On the other side of the phone, Remy smiles slightly at the blonde's outburst.

"_Dyspnea, anemia, seventh nerve palsy, and tachycardia. Go!" _House barks into the line, waiting for new diagnoses based on the newly added symptoms.

"No way. Chase was right. House is going to get someone killed and I don't want to be a part of it," Foreman replies before turning and exiting the office. Cameron easily does the math and decides that, between the hostages, Remy has a 33 percent chance of being the one killed.

Kutner glances at the other doctors in the room. "Loa loa filariasis," he suggests.

"Q Fever," Taub ventures.

"Maybe histiocytosis X," Wilson decides to contribute, figuring it would be better to try and help than sit around sulking.

"_Hold on!" _House cuts off Cameron's inevitable guess as he notices something. _"Jason's favoring his left ear when listening which means that he's losing hearing in his right ear," _he points out, another symptom added to the list.

"Cushing's Disease would explain his fluctuating hearing," Allison offers up easily, growing concerned by her ex-girlfriend's lack of input to the differential. The brunette usually has a few diseases that she can list off the top of her head.

"It could also explain Jason's aggression and risk-taking," Kutner adds to Cameron's explanation.

"_Hey! No disease tells me what to do and who to take hostage," _Jason defends himself.

"_You might want to keep that on the down-low because it might help your chances at trial," _House snarks in response. Allison and Remy roll their eyes. _"I'll order the Dexamethasone to test for it,"_ he states before hanging up.

Back in the CT room, Jason glares suspiciously at House for a moment. "What's that?" He questions.

"A steroid," Hadley offers up sedately, still angry at her boss for what he said less than half an hour ago.

House calls out to the SWAT team. "I need Dexamethasone to test for Cushing's," he tells Lt. Bowman.

"_No. Negotiations are over," _the other man growls into the phone.

Jason comes over and takes the phone from House. "I'll release another hostage and stop testing on the sick doctor," he promises the SWAT captain.

There is a slight pause before a hesitant, _"Okay," _comes through.

"Get out of here," Jason directs the teen. The boy casts a brief glance towards Remy before scurrying out of the room, almost into Cuddy.

House approaches his boss and notices her looking over at Thirteen with a worried look on her face. "House, you can't-" she gets cut off as he grabs the drug and closes the door.

Jason watches House prepare the syringe with trepidation. "Give it to her first," he directs the older doctor.

House's jaw drops and Remy, for her part, doesn't look too shocked. "I gave you the gun back? How could you not trust me with this by now?!" He shouts at the gunman.

"I may trust you now, but I still don't trust those SWAT guys not to give me something else," Jason orders weakly.

"This could screw up her liver because of her Huntington's," House tries to argue on behalf of his employee.

Thirteen, tired of the banter, reaches over and grabs the syringe from her boss' hand and shoots herself up. "My chances with the drug are better than our chance of not being shot if I don't take it," she argues her point, handing the syringe back to the other man so he can inject Jason.

"Huntington's? Judging by the way Dr. House keeps talking about it, it must be serious. How long do you have to live?" Jason wonders.

"She has ten years," House notes with a frown as he listens for changes in the gunman's breathing.

Jason furrows his brows. "Not knowing what was wrong with me was making me crazy. That's why I had to resort to crazy means to find the answer. But, I had something to gain," he begins, his attention fully on the brunette. "You, on the other hand, take risks with no upside at all," he continues.

"You aren't exactly the best person to be doling out advice," House snorts. "And it's not Cushing's," he adds as an afterthought.

"Are you okay?" Jason asks the paling woman on the CT table.

House turns and goes over to Thirteen. "You have a fever and you're heart is racing," he says, quickly taking stock of the younger doctor's status.

"Is she okay?" Jason redirects his question to House.

"No. Her kidneys are failing because of all the drugs you made her take," he grunts as he helps lay Hadley down on the table.

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Once again, Wilson is the one to answer the phone and put it on speaker. "It didn't work," Wilson says, knowing that, if it had worked, House wouldn't have bothered calling.

"_Why did the steroids make Thirteen's kidneys fail and not Jason's?" _House questions immediately, not having the time to word it so as not to panic Cameron.

"Another drug given by one of his other 16 doctors must be protecting his kidneys," Allison numbly offers.

House sets the phone down next to Remy on the table and goes over to Jason. _"I'll have to slap you…for diagnostic purposes,"_ House says to the patient. There is a whacking sound and a pause. _"He has Chvostek's sign. He has a calcium deficiency that is protecting his kidneys," _he informs them.

Rifling through the patient's notes. They find that Jason has been on proton pump inhibitors for years, suggesting that means his kidneys have been protected for years. Kidney failure is now added to the list of symptoms.

"Could be leishmaniasis," Taub shrugs his suggestion.

"Melioidosis," Cameron offers, trying not to panic as she pictures Remy laying in that room with her kidneys failing while they try and diagnose Jason.

"_Great! But if either of you bothered to read the file, you would know that Jason has never been anywhere tropic," _House snaps sarcastically.

"Is he sure about that?" A desperate Allison pursues the topic.

"_I've never been anywhere south of Florida," _Jason says in frustration. There is an angry pause as Thirteen and House glare at him. The sound of Allison dropping her head on the desk can be heard faintly from the phone.

"_You idiot!" _House growls.

"_What? Florida counts?" _Jason sheepishly wonders.

"_It's tropical enough. You were never diagnosed, not because those 16 doctors didn't care, but because you wouldn't give a proper history!" _He shouts hatefully.

The team listens on as House goes over to the other phone and requests Ceftazidime. Jason, in exchange for the drug, agrees to release House before hanging up.

"_You still need me," _the older man tries to argue.

"_I have my diagnosis," _Jason replies with certainty. _"She needs to take it so I know it's not a trick_," he continues.

"_She's suffering from kidney failure! The Ceftazidime is going to kill her!" _House tries desperately to reason with the other man.

Looking over at the table, he sees that the phone is still on and the others are still listening. He goes over and snaps it shut. With a deep sigh, he knows full well that, if Thirteen dies, Cameron will never forgive him for getting the brunette into this situation in the first place.

As soon as House snaps the phone shut, Cameron scrapes her chair back and stands up. "Where are you going?" Taub asks carefully.

"I need to get up there," Allison quickly replies before pulling out her cell phone and handing it to Taub. "Find Robert Hadley's number and tell him to get here immediately," she instructs the shorter man before rushing out of the office and to the elevator to get to the third floor.

Allison manages to push herself through several members of the security and SWAT teams. Her heart sinks as she sees House exiting the CT room.

"What happened? Did she take it?" She frantically questions her former boss as soon as she approaches him.

"I don't-" House numb reply is cut short at the explosion of the door behind him.

Eyes widening in fear, Cameron takes advantage of the chaos around and proceeds into the destroyed room. She pauses instantaneously upon spotting the prone form of her ex-girlfriend sprawled out, face-down, on the floor. It feels like she continues the approach in slow motion as she takes the other woman's shoulder and turns her over, preparing for the worst.

Allison almost sobs in relief when the brunette's eye flutter open. The blonde brushes several loose strands of sweat-dampened hair from the other woman's face. "You're alive," she whispers, awestruck at the revelation.

"He didn't make me take it," Remy quietly, and obviously, points out. "I don't want to die Ally," she says, her voice becoming thick with emotion.

"I don't want you to die either," Allison softly responds.

Thirteen weakly reaches up and takes the hand lingering on her face in her own hand. She intertwines their fingers together before closing her eyes and succumbing to the exhaustion of the day's events. Cameron allows a wave of relieved tears to escape.

"Ma'am, we need to get you to clear out so we can get her out of here," one of the SWAT members breaks into the moment. Allison nods in understanding, reluctantly releasing the other woman's hand and stepping away.

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**6:15 pm**

The first thing she is aware of is the rhythmic beeping in the background. Cracking a single eye open, Remy realizes that she is in a hospital room. She closes her eyes again and groans, the light not being her friend right now. With a gentle squeeze to her hand, Thirteen tilts her head to the side and chances a look to her right hand side.

"Hey," Allison whispers.

"Hey," Remy returns in the same tone, albeit with a scratchy voice.

"You'll be fine after a week of dialysis," the blonde awkwardly informs the other woman. Thirteen shifts her position a little. "You know, what you did was incredibly stupid," she sighs, not able to hold her tongue on the matter.

"I know, but…It seemed like the right thing to do at the time," Remy defends herself, albeit weakly.

Allison frowns as she takes the brunette's free hand in her own. "And how would I have had to explain that to Alex? I shouldn't have to tell her that her only mother died because she just gave up on her life. House is wrong because I know you're not a coward. I just wish you would stop acting like one," she sighs, her tone starting off angry, but she finishes by sounding sad.

"I'm going to do the Huntington's drug trial," Hadley decides, having a feeling that the other woman knows exactly what she is talking about. "I don't want to die," she declares softly but sincerely, repeating her earlier sentiments in the CT room.

"I'm glad," the ER doctor replies, noticing the tears threatening to spill out of the other woman's eyes.

They sit there for several moments. The only sound that can be heard is the comforting sound of Remy's heart monitors beeping, signaling that she is still alive.

"Ally, I think I need help," Thirteen whispers brokenly, a few tears beginning to fall.

"Okay, what do you need me to do?" Allison questions as she goes to pull her hand, but the other woman holds tight.

"Not with this. I just…I can't keep doing all of this anymore, but I need help," is the response, the brunette frustrated because she can't seem to get her words out right.

It finally dawns on Cameron what the other woman is talking about. "I'm not going anywhere," she assures her with a warm smile, gently squeezing her hand.

Before Thirteen gets the chance to reply, the door opens and a head pops into the room. "Is she awake yet?" The girl asks before settling on the bed. "Mom!" Alex cries out as she rushes into the room.

"Hey Sweetie," Remy grins, her face lighting up as she sees her daughter for the first time in nearly a month.

Robert is hanging back in the doorway with a smile as he watches his three girls interacting with one another again.

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So, a relatively happy ending to a chapter…at least compared to every chapter before this one and, with this chapter, _**Taking Risks**_ is officially the longest 'Thirteen' story, let alone the longest Cadley story, on . Go me.

I am a little blocked on the next chapter. Some of the dialogue doesn't feel right to me at the moment. We're looking at a Wednesday update at the earliest.

Also, let me apologize ahead of time for any Foreman bashing there may be. After they started this whole Foreteen thing, I have really grown to hate him.

Anyways, tell me what you think. I am always eager to hear if people like this or hate it or…whatever.


	11. A Room With A View

**Spoilers!**: _Includes a lot of the events of Let Them Eat Cake_ but they occur while Thirteen is still on dialysis (and not yet started with the drug trial). There's a pretty big spoiler in regards to a certain online medical consulting site. Ignore the fact that in _Let Them Eat Cake_, Thirteen's dad's name is revealed to be John.

**A/N**: Takes place three days after the last chapter. Also, it occurs exclusively between Thirteen's hospital room and Thirteen's dad's house (where Cameron and Alexis are still living). I also screwed with the episode timeline a bit.

**A/N2**: Sorry this took longer than expected to get up here. I was having an issue getting my pain meds so, for the last few days, I felt like shit (I kind of sound like House now…goddamn it). It's kind of sad that I was able to write this whole chapter in two and a half hours. And, bonus, it's another long one...sorry if it's _**too**_ long. I wanted the whole episode in one chapter. It's also purely coincidence that this got posted on stupid Valentine's Day.

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**Chapter Eleven- A Room With A View**

**Monday, 9:00 am**

It has been three days that she has been stuck in the hospital room and Thirteen is bored. She has gotten to the point of counting the ceiling tiles to occupy her mind. The weekend wasn't so bad because she had Allison, Alexis, and her dad spending time with her. Now, though, Alex has school, Robert has deadlines, and Allison-

"Hey," a soft voice cuts into her thoughts.

"Crap," Remy sighs to herself.

The blonde ER doctor arches an eyebrow and looks around the dark, quiet room. "Am I interrupting something?" She questions carefully, hoping that her presence isn't that disappointing to the other woman.

"No. I was just…" Thirteen trails off, knowing how stupid she is about to sound. "I was just counting the tiles on the ceiling. You made me lose count," she lamely continues.

Allison smirks. "I can come back if you want," she offers, amused, as she moves towards the door.

"No!" Remy calls out, desperately wanting the company. Cameron grins and takes the seat by the bed.

"Going a little stir-crazy?" Allison guesses with an arched eyebrow.

"Something like that," Remy chuckles. Her smile fades as she glances down at her hands folded over her stomach.

The blonde allows her gaze to drop as well, noticing the prominent tremors. She reaches over takes the other woman's hands in her own. "I wish you would have talked to me about this sooner," she sighs, knowing the brunette is aware of what she is referring to.

Remy sighs and averts her eyes, but doesn't remove her hand from the other woman's grip. "Do we have to talk about this now?" She whispers, pleading for the blonde to let it go.

"We should have talked about it months ago," Allison astutely points out, brushing her thumb over the back of Hadley's hand. "When we decided to be together, you told me that 'if we're going to make this thing between us work out, we're going to have to be honest with each other'. Do you remember that?" She gently challenges the bedridden woman.

Thirteen takes a moment to be amazed that the blonde is able to remember the exact words she said almost a year and a half ago. "I remember," she hesitantly acknowledges.

"So, do you still want us to work this out?" Cameron questions, desperately hoping that the answer is yes.

The word is right on the tip of Remy's tongue, but she can't bring herself to actually say it. She releases a defeated sigh. "I'm dying Allison. The tremors have started and it's only going to get worse from here. You shouldn't have to go through this again," is her evasive response as she pulls her hand away.

"That's not an answer," the older doctor replies sternly. "Do you still want to be with me?" She tries again. Hadley, for her part, knows that the honest answer is the selfish one and will only hurt the other woman in the long run. "And don't lie," Cameron adds as if sensing the brunette's inner turmoil.

"Yes," Thirteen whispers. "But it-"

Allison holds a hand up to silence the taller woman. "Do you still love me?"

The younger woman prepares to argue her point once more, but a severe look from the other woman prevents her from doing so. "Yes," she simply answers.

This brings a bright smile to the ER doctor's face. "And I still love you. Nothing is ever going to change any of this. I wasn't lying all those times that I told you that you could tell me anything," she explains to the other woman.

"I know," Hadley murmurs before fixing her eyes onto the blonde's. "Does this mean we're back together?" She wonders hopefully.

"Let's worry about putting _**you **_back together before we jump back into our relationship. Does that sound fair?"

"But I'm only going to be on dialysis for a few more days," Remy frowns, not seeing what the difference between now and four days will make.

The blonde sighs, wondering how someone so intelligent can be so clueless. "I'm not just talking about your kidneys. I'm talking about your overall mental health," she explains.

"What do you-"

"Cuddy said that she wants you to start seeing a therapist," Allison cuts her off nervously, not wanting to have to tell the brunette this, but knowing that she is the best person for the job.

"What? Why?" A confused Thirteen wonders.

Cameron's heart clinches as she remembers the dean's words from the previous day. "She doesn't know all of the details, but she does know that you volunteered to take the same drugs that were given to Jason. Cuddy feels that, after everything that has happened to you lately, the situation with Jason is going to be too much on you. She just wants to make sure that you are doing okay," the blonde speaks slowly in an attempt to keep the younger doctor calm and defend the dean at the same time.

"So, what, she thinks that I am going to snap after being held at gunpoint?" Remy barks out more harshly than intended.

Cameron, having expected a similar reaction, doesn't even flinch. "The only other person in that room with you was Jason. As far as we know, you would have gone through with injecting yourself with the drug that would kill you if the SWAT team hadn't blasted through the door," she answers back softly.

"Is she trying to suggest that I am going to try and kill myself?!" Remy questions, the rage in her tone accentuated by the sound of her heart rate monitor increasing.

Allison bites her lip nervously as she contemplates telling the other woman about reading through her file provided by House. "We know about your CAG test results," she uses as a segue into telling her about the file.

"'_**We**_'?" Thirteen growls out, aware that this means that, in addition to Cuddy and Cameron, House is also in the know. Allison nods. "House?" She questions, already knowing the answer.

The ER doctor decides to bite the bullet and just tell her. She's hoping for a reaction less explosive than their confrontation after finding out that she knew of Remy's Huntington's Disease before asking her out.

"He found them in your purse before rehiring you after that whole 'Spencer' drama a couple weeks back," Allison tentatively elaborates before taking a deep sigh. "He also gave-" The blonde is cut off by the door to the room opening loudly as House enters with Kutner and Taub in tow.

"Do you mind?!" Thirteen growls at her boss and coworkers.

"Not at all," the older man glibly replies.

"House," Allison sighs in exasperation.

"We need a differential on a woman with lung problems that have nothing to do with her lungs and heart problems that have nothing to do with her heart. Go," he directs his youngest Fellow, ignoring the blonde in the seat next to the bed.

"Really, House?" Hadley questions incredulously.

"She's clearly in no condition to be working on a differential with you," Cameron points out in reference to the monitors and dialysis machine hooked up to the young woman.

Thirteen considers the man before her for a moment. "Maybe it's a carcinoid tumor," she suggests, hoping that her contribution will be enough to send him away.

Taking some time to think this over, he nods to himself before turning to the other men. "Find it and get rid of it," he orders the pair. "And Cuddy needs you," he begins as he points to Cameron, "in the ER…stat," the older doctor informs her.

Allison casts a suspicious glance at the brunette in the bed. "Are you going to be okay?" She cautiously asks.

Remy rolls her eyes. "I'll be fine. Go," she promises. With a slight smile, Cameron briefly squeezes her hand before letting go and standing up. "Behave," are her parting words, directed towards House.

The older man limps over towards the newly vacated seat before flopping down into it. He takes the folder in his hand and sets it on Thirteen's stomach. "Why do you even need me for this case?" Hadley groans, refusing to go through the patient's file.

"Who said that had anything to do with the patient?" House asks rhetorically as he drops his gaze to the manila folder.

Thirteen locks eyes with the other man for a long moment before turning towards the thick folder on her lap. She turns it so that she'll be able to read the words when she opens the file. A moment after opening it, she closes it again and stares wide-eyed at her boss.

"Is this-"

"I had Lucas pull up every file he could find on you during the 30 hours that I fired you," House explains the file in front of the other woman. "And I was right when I said that there is no such thing as a saint without a past," he smirks.

Remy settles on a scowl directed towards her boss. "Given the last few months, between the breakup and drugs and drinking, how could you even allude to the fact that I'm a 'saint'? Unlike the last time, you know better now," she scoffs at the older man.

House's childish expression hardens into a more serious one. "Because we both know that this isn't the real you," he answers, gesturing at her prone body in the bed. "We both know that you're masking your bigger problems behind these superficial ones."

"What makes you so sure?" Thirteen finds herself challenging him.

"Someone once told me that drugs are always a mask for something else," he answers gravely, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Remy can't help but roll her eyes even though she is chuckling at him repeating her own words back to her. This makes him the second person to do that today. "Sounds like this person is pretty smart," she replies earnestly.

"Sometimes, but she's usually just a pain in my ass," House shrugs, earning a smirk from Thirteen.

The other woman's smile turns into a confused frown. "Where's Foreman? He didn't follow you when you guys barged in here," she wonders, noticing the absence of the other member of the team.

House arches an eyebrow at the mention of the other doctor. "You're not developing a thing for Homey, are you?" He questions with distaste before his face lights up. "I can call you guys 'Foreteen'!"

Hadley's face twists in disgust. "Ew, no!" She blurts out almost immediately. "I was just curious," she explains her question.

"That Huntington's trial thing," the older man waves off. "Apparently the first day for all of the patients is an all-day thing. I'll be without the both of you the day you start," he continues with a frown.

"Great. A day with Foreman," Remy deadpans. "That's almost as bad as a day alone with you," she adds, amused at the offended expression on her boss' face.

House goes to respond before he seems to think better of it. "You're lucky that you're in that bed and that I have to deal with Cuddy commandeering my office," he grumbles before standing up.

"You and Cuddy have to share an office?" Thirteen questions with a grin.

"She's blaming me for her office being ruined," House snorts. "So, the vengeful demon is seeking revenge by moving into my office…presumably to be able to suck out my soul more easily," he explains…in his own way.

"House, that's ridiculous…Everyone knows that you don't have a soul," Remy holds back her smile as she says this, surprisingly enjoying their easy banter.

The older doctor merely nods slightly before quirking the corners of his lips into a small smile. "Touché," he states. "Hurry up and get better. Pushing Kutner and Taub around isn't nearly as fun as pushing you around."

"I don't let you push me around…much," she argues as he makes his way to the door.

"I like the challenge," he grins cheekily before leaving the room to harass Cuddy in their shared office.

Once again, the dark-haired doctor finds herself alone in her hospital room with nothing to keep her company, save for the sound of her heart monitor beeping every other second. She sighs deeply before returning her gaze towards the ceiling to resume counting.

"Why does Coma Guy get satellite TV in his room while I'm stuck with basic cable?" She grumbles to herself. "Maybe if I was in a coma, I'd get to choose from something better than _Jerry Springer_, _Oprah_, or _All My Children_," she bitterly continues as she realizes that she has to start back at the beginning with counting the ceiling tiles.

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**1:00 pm**

House, Kutner, and Taub reenter Thirteen's hospital room only to find the other woman asleep. Rather than come back later or pester Foreman for a differential, House resorts to simply banging his cane against the metal tray attached to the hospital bed. Needless, to say, this jolts the sleeping woman painfully back into consciousness.

Remy looks around the room, her eyes wide from being startled awake. "She has gastric bypass surgery," House states as soon as he sees the other woman looking directly at him.

"I think it could be diabetic neuropathy resulting from type two diabetes," Kutner explains.

"Or sleep apnea," Taub adds his two cents in.

"Both of which sound stupid," House snorts at the two men.

"I was sleeping," Hadley grouches. "Why didn't you go to Foreman?"

"Because _**he **_can stand up and walk away if I irritate him," the older man grins.

Remy rolls her eyes. "Could be a side effect from the bypass surgery…possibly a gastrointestinal malabsorption leading to a low potassium level," she suggests.

"Well, that's _**very **_stupid," House snarks.

"Yeah, well, what did you expect? Clearly I'm not feeling well right now so I can be excused from not being my usual amazing self," Thirteen growls.

"Maybe instead of the malabsorption, it's a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in a bind loop of bowel," Kutner guesses.

"If the bacteria got into her bloodstream it could cause her symptoms," Remy agrees, hoping that this will get rid of the men so she can go back to sleep.

After taking a moment to ponder this, House merely nods his head slightly. "Taub, Kutner, congratulations! You get to test the patient's stool for bacterial overgrowth or fat malabsorption," he smirks at the other two men, who groan before exiting the room.

A couple minutes later, Hadley arches an eyebrow at her boss, who is just standing there staring at her. "Can I help you?" She irritably questions the older man.

"Kutner's running an online second opinion clinic. They email them his symptoms and he sends them his opinion," House explains with a smirk.

"So what?" The younger doctor sighs.

"He's doing it under my name."

Thirteen narrows her eyes. "Judging by the look on your face, you aren't supposed to know about it…and why the hell are you telling me?" She wonders.

"He's having a problem with a case and I wanted to give you a heads up in case he asks you for help. He already did with Taub," he shrugs.

"Is it a real case or are you setting him up?"

House gives her an impish grin. "Have a good afternoon," he instead replies before exiting the room.

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**6:00 pm**

Allison, finally catching a break from the ER, is on her way to Remy's hospital room. However, a few steps away, she hears voices in there and, due to the glass walls, she is able to see who the room's other occupants are. With a smile, she enters the hospital room to find Alexis and Robert. Robert is sitting in the chair by the bed and Alexis is actually laying in the bed next to Remy.

"Hey," she greets the trio as they turn their attention on the new arrival.

"Hey," Robert nods to the other woman with a smile of his own. "How's the ER treating you?" He wonders.

"Busy, but great," Cameron replies, not taking her eyes off the dark-haired woman in the bed. "How are you feeling?" She asks her.

"Like I'm stuck in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and…" Remy trails off as she looks around. "Would you look at that, I _**am **_hooked up to machines in a hospital bed…Well, that explains it," she points out sarcastically in mock-surprise.

"Very clever smart-ass," Allison chuckles along with Robert.

"Language!" Alexis chastises the older blonde from her position on the bed with her mother. "And it's not funny," she turns her tone back on Thirteen.

Remy smiles fondly at the eight year old. "I know it isn't Sweetie," she responds sincerely.

Alexis sighs as she rests her head on her mom's shoulder and gingerly puts an arm over her stomach. "When do you get to leave?" She questions.

"The end of the week," Robert answers easily for his daughter.

"When do we get to go home?" The small girl then wonders, looking up at her mother as she does so.

At this, Remy frowns. "Are you in a hurry to be somewhere?" She arches a questioning eyebrow, trying not to be hurt by the girl's inquiry.

"No, not today…I mean, when do Ally and I get to go back to our apartment with you?" She clarifies her earlier question, much to the discomfort of everyone else in the room.

"Great news!" A new voice declares from the doorway, breaking up the awkward silence.

"God House, do you really have _**no **_boundaries at all?" Allison questions irritably from her position at the foot of the bed.

"What's the great news?" Robert makes the mistake of asking, not having had much experience with the other doctor in the past.

House glances over at the other man briefly before turning his attention back to the brunette doctor. "The chelation didn't work," he grins.

"How is that good news?" Remy asks in confusion.

"It gives us another excuse to barge in here and keep you company," the older doctor replies in an obvious tone.

"Is this really necessary?" Foreman question his boss as he comes up behind him in Thirteen's hospital room.

"Of course it is. I like to include everyone in the differential process," House answers back, feigning hurt at the accusation that he is just trying to pester his youngest fellow.

"She is never going to get better if you keep pestering her," Cameron snaps at her former boss. "Why can't you go back to your own office and-"

"No can do," Kutner butts into the conversation, earning several looks prompting him to continue.

"Cuddy had all of the furniture in the Diagnostics Office removed," Taub fills the brunette in.

"Why?" Thirteen wonders, instantly regretting it as House opens his mouth to reply. "You know what? I don't want to know," she corrects herself.

"We should probably get out of here," Robert observes as Alexis removes herself from the bed. He leans over and places a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead. "We'll see you tomorrow," he promises before he and the eight year old girl are gone.

"And I need to get back to the ER," Cameron regretfully informs her ex-girlfriend before slinking out of the room.

"I'm still waiting for a diagnosis," House arches an eyebrow pointedly at the brunette.

"Coronary-cardiac fistula," Foreman suggests, not feeling comfortable doing the differential in a room with Thirteen attached to a dialysis machine.

"Austrian Syndrome," Kutner contributes warily.

"It could be Guillain-Barré," Hadley pitches in moments before Kutner's pager goes off. Several seconds later, Taub's pager goes off as well.

House glances over at the two men suspiciously. "The bypass surgery could have triggered the Guillain-Barré. Kutner and Taub, get her started on plasmapheresis," he orders the antsy men…who take off running.

Remy arches an amused eyebrow at her boss. "How long are you going to punish them with a fake patient?" She inquires.

"What?" Foreman questions, his attention turning to his boss in surprise.

"As long as it takes," House grins before turning and leaving the hospital room.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Foreman's attention shifts back to the woman in the bed. "What fake patient?" He wonders, his curiosity overriding his discomfort.

"Kutner started an online medical second advice website and he doesn't want House to know about it. Now he has dragged Taub into it with some 'mysterious' illness of some woman," Thirteen casually explains.

"Why wouldn't he want House to know about it? I'm pretty sure that it's legal," the other man replies in confusion.

"Not if Kutner's doing it under House's name…and I'm sure Taub is blackmailing him at this point so he has no reason to tell House about it," Hadley speculates.

There is a short pause between the two that seems to stretch out longer than its actual 57 seconds. Remy is laying there wondering why the other man won't leave and Foreman is stuck trying to think of something to say.

"So, how are you holding up?" The older doctor finally asks.

Thirteen quirks an eyebrow at the ridiculous question. "Been better. You?" She redirects.

Foreman nods at her answer before watching her for several long moments. "I'm sorry for walking out on the differential when you and House were being taken hostage," he brings himself to apologize for the events from several days ago.

"I understand why you did it…Besides, everything turned out fine in the end," she shrugs it off.

"You're on dialysis because of me. Maybe if I'd stuck around to-"

"Is Chase having the same moral dilemma as you are? He walked out way before you did," Remy rolls her eyes at her colleague.

Foreman considers the question for a moment. "He doesn't seem to be kicking himself because of it," he sighs. "I just-"

"Don't take it so personally. You didn't make me take the drugs," Thirteen cuts him off once more, her frustration finally seeping into her tone.

The other man detects the irritation in her voice. "Are you going to be up for starting the trial when you get out of here?" He questions, changing the subject.

"I'll be ready," Hadley smiles slightly, relieved at the switch in topics, before releasing a tired yawn.

"You're tired," Foreman unnecessarily points out.

"House has been constantly popping in here for the differential. It's his way of including me so I don't feel so left out I guess," she shrugs weakly in an attempt to explain her fatigue.

"Then your dad and daughter were here…with Cameron," the other man tries to subtly prompt her for more information. She says nothing in response. "How are things with you and Cameron?" He cuts right to the chase.

"We're working on it," Remy vaguely replies. She is not particularly comfortable talking about her personal life with Foreman…especially considering the disappointed look on his face when she revealed that she and Allison were not giving up on their relationship.

Foreman offers a small upturn of his lips in a failed attempt at a smile. "I'm glad," he nods with strained sincerity. "I'm going to go so you can get some rest," he then says before making his way to the door.

"Bye," Thirteen says in response and he is out the door a moment later. She rolls her eyes and breathes a sigh of relief. "Can you say 'awkward'?" She mumbles to herself as she shifts around in the bed to try and get comfortable. Several moments later, she closes her eyes with another yawn before drifting back to sleep.

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**7:30 pm**

Robert watches the blonde on the other side of the dining room table, noting the frown marring her features as she picks idly at the pepperoni on her pizza. Despite his desire to question the other woman, he holds back, not wanting to bring it up in front of his granddaughter.

"Can I go watch TV?" Alexis asks as she finishes her last slice of pizza, sensing the tension in the room between the two adults.

"After you put your plate in the dishwasher," Robert concedes.

As Alex walks by the pair, Allison barely looks up at her because she is too lost in thought. "What are you thinking about?" The older Hadley questions her after he hears the sound of the television clicking on in the living room.

Cameron is startled for being called out by the other man. "Just thinking about how mad Remy's going to be when she finds out about all the junk food you've been feeding her lately," she smiles softly, obviously lying through her teeth.

"Not if you don't tell her…It's embarrassing for a forty-six year old man to be afraid of his daughter," Robert replies easily.

Allison releases a short chuckle as she remembers the first night she spent at the apartment after she moved in with Remy and Alexis. The brunette couldn't stay mad for more than 10 seconds about being manipulated into ordering pizza.

"I can't guarantee that Alex won't say anything," the blonde replies mischievously.

"Good point," the older man agrees before his smile slowly fades. "But seriously, what's on your mind?" He asks once again after a moment, knowing that that isn't what has the other woman so down.

The ER doctor takes a deep breath and runs her fingers through her hair. "I'm just worried about the Huntington's trial that Remy is going to be starting at the end of the week," she admits.

Robert's brows furrow, perplexed. "Isn't the trial a good thing?" He wonders.

"Yeah, of course. But…" Allison trails off, averting her eyes. "But the side effects are kind of scary and what if it doesn't even work?"

"What if the drug _**does **_work?" The other man challenges her with an arched eyebrow that seems to be a bit of a trademark of the two members of the Hadley clan that the blonde is familiar with.

"What if she's on the placebo instead?" Allison redirects.

Leaning forward in his seat, Robert settles an intense gaze on the younger woman. "What happened to the eternal optimist that I know and love?" He wonders, his tone teasing but his question serious.

"Her girlfriend started getting sick. Her girlfriend started drinking and doing drugs and lying to her," Allison sighs and nibbles on her bottom lip for a moment before locking eyes with her ex-girlfriend's father. "I just don't want to get my hopes up by relying on an experimental drug that may or may not work," she adds quietly.

At the confession, Robert reaches over and places a comforting hand on her forearm. "The fact that she even agreed to participate in the drug trial is a big step. It means that she's no longer in denial of having Huntington's and she's willing to finally face it and fight it. It means that she hasn't given up hope on herself or her relationships," he softly explains to her.

"You're right," Cameron acknowledges. "If she's going to go through with this, she's going to need all the support that she can get."

Robert merely smiles in response, happy to hear that Allison is not going to bail out so easily. "Good. Now let's go see what TV show Lexi is going to torture us with tonight," he smirks as the pair stand up and make their way into the living room.

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**The Next Morning (Tuesday), 9:25 am**

"Morning Sunshine!" House loudly greets as he enters Remy's hospital room, successfully startling the brunette doctor awake.

"Ah!" Hadley gasps as she quickly takes in her surroundings in search of danger in the room. He gaze settles on house and the rest of the team standing in the doorway.

"Was that really necessary?" Taub asks their boss, feeling bad for constantly barging in on the other woman as she tries to get better.

"No…but it's more fun this way," the other man grins.

"What is it _**this **_time?" Thirteen groans.

"Your diagnosis of CNS lymphoma was wrong," the older man takes pleasure in informing her of the fact.

"You guys don't even need to be here. I heard Cuddy put all your furniture back in the office," Hadley irritably points out, wanting to be rid of them.

"Five heads are better than four," is House's cheeky response.

"Fine," Remy grunts.

"Emmy was really crappy…and then she wasn't," Kutner catches her up…in as few words as possible.

House rolls his eyes as he hit's the Indian man in the shin with his cane for being so obtuse. "How could a sick person suddenly get better?" He wonders aloud.

"It's called an immune system. You should look into it," the brunette snarks.

"Sick people who are sick enough to be my patients don't suddenly get better," House argues.

"She was a mess before she had an MRI and not long afterwards she was up and moving again," Taub explains in further detail.

"Weird. Did you give her anything before or after the MRI that might have done something?" Thirteen questions in confusion.

Taub feels uncomfortable with four sets of eyes trained on him. "No. I just gave her an MRI, took her to the cafeteria to get her some chocolate cake, and she went back to be," she shrugs, not seeing where the room for error would be.

At this, House scowls at the short doctor. "You idiot! Why didn't you say something before?" He snaps and the other three share a confused look as their boss exits the room with Taub right on his heels.

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**12:40 pm**

Hadley tears her gaze away from the television screen at the sound of the door opening. "Hey," she greets the other woman.

"Hey," Allison repeats as she moves to take the seat next to the bed, glancing at the TV for a moment. "Have you really been reduced to watching _The People's Court_?" She wonders with amusement.

"Unfortunately," Remy sighs dramatically, muting the television so she can focus on the other woman. "What brings you down to my neck of the woods on your lunch break?" She asks after several long moments of silence.

"I just wanted to see you," Cameron admits with a small smile. "And I figured you'd want to know about your patient," she adds quickly.

"Is she okay?" Thirteen finds herself asking.

"She has hereditary coproporphyria. When she was overweight her high carb diet kept her symptoms at bay," the ER doctor fills her in.

"Good. Then maybe House will actually leave me alone for the next few days," Remy snorts in response.

"I doubt that," Allison smirks as she begins to idly stroke the brunette's forearm with her right hand. Remy closes her eyes at the soft caress. "How are you feeling about the upcoming drug trial?" She can't help but ask.

"I'm excited…but realistic enough to know better than to completely get my hopes up that it'll work," Hadley sighs in response, not wanting to discuss the trial.

Cameron nods, her own feelings in regards to the drug being almost the same. "I bet it's strange knowing that you'll be acting as a patient with the trial," she muses.

"Not so strange considering that I'll have a week's worth of being a patient under my belt by the time I get started," she shrugs nonchalantly. "But it might be a little awkward having to work with Foreman so closely."

"I'm sure you'll be okay. I trust him not to let anything happen to you," Allison attempts to reassure the other woman, hoping like hell that this whole thing isn't going to end up being some huge mistake…especially since she was the one to have approached Eric about getting Remy into the trial in the first place.

"You're probably right," Hadley agrees with a smile as she feels the blonde lace their fingers together, both hands resting on the side of the bed.

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So, I got to cut Foreman (and Foreteen) down a little this chapter, which was fun. I liked making them incredibly awkward and Foreman having a bit of unrequited feelings for her. I even liked the Robert Hadley/Cameron moment near the end. Next chapter will have _Joy to the World_…where Cuddy gets her kid and Thirteen will _**not **_be kissing Foreman!

I actually really liked the Thirteen/House scenes in this chapter. I think that it is important that they get a chance to bond some because I think they have a lot in common. I'd like to think that I wrote him in character (as well as Thirteen and Cameron too, of course). Let me know how I did with that…as well as how you felt about using just the hospital room and Robert Hadley's house as the background of this chapter.

One more thing, is it just me or does Cameron act like a total bitch to Thirteen on the show? Whenever they are in a scene together, it seems like Cameron is snapping at her about something (_Painless_ most recently) or Thirteen is expressing that she doesn't care about Cameron's personal life (like in _The Itch_). Just an observation…that pisses me the hell off.

**Edits**: (February 20) Fixed some minor grammatical errors as well as removed those hellish footnotes that we all decided that we didn't like - they really _**were**_ too distracting.


	12. Uncharacteristically Optimistic

**Spoilers!**: The only mentions of _Let Them Eat Cake_ are in regards to the drug trial. Quick mention of _Joy_. The rest is _Joy to the World_…mostly just some of the personal events, I'm not focusing too much on the medical aspect. Also, there's more Foreman-bashing.

**A/N**: Admittedly, the footnotes were a pain in the ass in the last chapter. Never again will they appear. If you go back to chapter 11, you'll see that I removed them.

**A/N2**: As always, I have toyed with the timeline quite a bit and altered some of the major interactions as well. Also, for the sake of this story, this is taking place a week after the last chapter and just before Christmas.

**A/N3**: Now, _**this **_is the longest chapter. I didn't want to split the episode into two different chapters because I'm lazy.

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**Chapter Twelve- Uncharacteristically Optimistic**

**7:35 am**

"So, do you have everything?" Allison asks the young brunette opening the passenger side door of her car.

"Yes," Alexis rolls her eyes at the older woman. "I'll see you tonight Ally," she says briefly before shutting the door and running off to meet her friends in front of the school.

Cameron sighs before putting her car in drive and heading off to work. The eight year old has been increasingly withdrawn since last week when Remy was in the hospital on dialysis. She knows that it has something to do with the fact that the little girl never got her answer as to when she and Allison were moving back into the apartment.

When she and her ex-girlfriend were talking in the hospital last week and Remy asked if they were back together, it took all of the blonde's willpower not to just cave. Cameron knows that holding back is the best thing for the brunette right now even though it feels like she is punishing the both of them.

The ER doctor arrives at the hospital. As she locks up her car and turns to walk up to the building, she spots an all-too-familiar red Jeep pull up nearby. Following her gut reaction, she waits for the other woman so that they can walk in together.

Thirteen steps out of her car and grabs her stuff, too distracted to notice the blonde standing beside her door. So, when she locks and slams the driver's side door shut she is understandably startled enough to jump slightly and drop her bag.

"You snuck up on me," Remy accuses the slightly shorter woman as they bend down to retrieve her belongings.

"Sorry," Allison apologizes with a smile as she stands back up and hands the brunette her lab coat.

Hadley shoulders her bag and accepts her coat from the other woman. "So…" she trails off awkwardly.

"How's the trial going?" The blonde asks the first question that pops into her mind.

"I just finished the day-long intake three days ago and got put on the drug two days ago. So, so far so good," Remy replies with a smirk and an arched eyebrow as the duo begin the short walk to the hospital entrance.

"So, this is your first official day back since…Jason," Cameron realizes, hating to bring up the hostage situation since it usually requires her to relive those terrifying moments when she thought that she might have lost the other woman forever.

"Yeah, officially…even though House kept barging in while I was on dialysis and the other day when Foreman and I were trying to get the initial testing done. It's almost like I never stopped working," the younger woman shrugs.

Allison concedes that it doesn't seem like she got a break at all. "So, no problems so far?" She asks, just to be certain.

The brunette quirks and amused eyebrow at the other woman. "You've been spending too much time with my dad. You're already starting to sound like him," she snorts, opening the door for the blonde. Allison smiles at the other woman's unconscious gesture.

"No way. I think you take after him quite a bit yourself," the ER doctor corrects.

"I would think that I take after my mom more than anything," Remy states with a small smile, trying to make a joke out of a serious situation as she follows the blonde into the building.

Cameron, for her part, isn't entirely sure what the other woman was trying to say with that statement. It could have been an attempt to joke about her Huntington's or it could be driven to include Ann Hadley's own bad habits. She doesn't know nearly enough about her ex-girlfriend's late mother to make any personality comparisons.

"Well, either way, Alexis is starting to become your Mini-Me. If she turns out to be half as much of a smart-ass as you, we're all going to be in trouble," Allison chooses to reply by simply moving on in the conversation.

Remy smiles at the mention of her daughter. "How's she doing? I haven't been able to see much of her since I got out of the hospital last week," she asks in regards to the little girl.

"She misses you. Your dad and I have kept her somewhat in the dark about everything that is really going on. So, she doesn't quite get why we're still living with Robert since you and I made up. She thought we were just fighting and not…" Allison trails off in her explanation, not wanting to say the words out loud.

"And not broken up?" Thirteen ventures a guess at what the shorter woman is trying to say. Allison simply nods. "She probably knows anyways," she sighs, running her fingers through her hair. "You didn't tell her about-"

"No, I didn't tell her about…anything that you wouldn't want her to know about," Cameron reassures her, knowing that the brunette is referring to all of her after-work activities of the last few months.

Thirteen smiles appreciatively towards the older doctor. "Well, I should get going," she reluctantly says as they reach the entrance to the ER, the location that they are forced to part ways.

"Me too," Allison agrees. Neither of them make a move to leave. They are so caught up in the familiarity of the moment, easily reminiscent of their relationship a little over a month ago, that they lean towards one another as if to share a short kiss goodbye. At the last moment, as if realizing what she's doing, Cameron pulls back and chuckles awkwardly.

"I'll see you later then," the brunette says, disappointed but understanding of the action. She offers her hand instead.

The ER doctor quirks an eyebrow in response, amused. She shakes the offered hand anyways. "Okay," she agrees before hesitantly turning around and heading into the ER.

Remy breathes out a short burst of air at the other woman's departure. Turning, she heads down the hall to the locker room to drop her stuff off before going to the Diagnostics Office.

Hadley lied to Allison again…this time about the drug trial. While it's true that the trial itself isn't proving to be much of an issue, some of the circumstances surrounding it are appearing to be a bit of a problem. She sighs at the thought of one of the Huntington's patients with advanced symptoms, Janice.

Just thinking about Janice brings back the vivid memories of her mother's similar behavior when she was suffering from Huntington's. The fact that, in less than ten years, she can expect to be in the same position as Janice and her mother is almost too much to bare. It seems more than coincidental that her meeting time seems to coincide with those of the other woman. She doesn't need to be reminded of her hatred of Ann Hadley on a daily basis since she gets enough of it with every twitch and tremor.

Trying to shake these thoughts out of her head, Thirteen knows that now is not the time to dwell on her bitter memories. The brunette has no desire to voice these thoughts to Allison because that would mean she would also have to admit her own fear in regards to how Alex is going to feel about her when the Huntington's take over…in the event that the drug doesn't work or she is really on the placebo.

Slamming her locker shut, Remy shrugs on her white lab coat and heads upstairs to get to work. Upon entering the Diagnostics Office, she is shocked to find House already there.

"Nice of you to finally join us," the older man snorts. "Did you have a nice vacation? Did you bring me any souvenirs?" He immediately questions.

Remy rolls her eyes. "First of all: I'm not late, you're early. Secondly, I wasn't on vacation, I was on dialysis," she corrects him as she slides into her usual seat, ignoring the absurdity of his last question.

"You got out of work so you might as well have been on vacation," House replies easily as he twirls his cane.

"Yeah, if you call using my hospital room for the differentials so I 'can participate' getting out of work, I guess you're right," the brunette snarks back in response. "Where's Foreman?" She wonders, not particularly concerned with waiting for her boss' response to her first comment.

"Why are you so concerned with him? Do I sense another office romance coming up?" House asks, mockingly holding a hand up to his heart.

Thirteen scrunches up her face in disgust at the suggestion. "No. What you sense coming up is my breakfast," she retorts at the suggestion of starting a relationship with the stone-faced doctor.

"That's not very nice," her boss points out in amusement.

"He's taking some vacation days to work on the trial and his FDA reports," Taub answers the brunette's inquiry as he glances up from reading the _New York Times_.

"Who's the present from?" Kutner finally finds a chance to ask the question that has been plaguing him since he saw the light-green wrapped present on the table in the office.

"Do we have a patient or are you going to try and make us watch _The E! True Hollywood Story_ on Hugh Hefner again?" Hadley sighs, trying to ignore her childish coworker...well, _**both**_ childish coworkers.

Kutner, not receiving an immediate answer, snatches the card from the top of the present. "'Greg, Made me think of you'," he reads aloud.

"Forget the present," House snaps at the younger man as he tosses a patient file onto the table in front of Thirteen and picks up the gift, throwing it into the trash.

"The vomiting, hallucinations, and liver failure could indicate alcohol abuse," Hadley suggests.

"They also could indicate Wilson's Disease," Taub adds as he grabs the gift out of the trash and opens it to reveal the book _Manual of Operations of Surgery_ by Robert Bell.

"The handwriting is kind of feminine, so it must be a female admirer," Kutner grins.

Remy leans over to take a look at the card. "Either that or Wilson," she offers, noticing the brief amused smirk on her boss' face before he turns serious once more.

"I said to forget the damn thing!" House barks, grabbing the book and chucking it back into the garbage. "Someone's probably screwing around with me," he throws in.

"People don't use rare, antique books to screw with other people," Taub astutely points out.

"The file says the other kids played a prank on her right before this happened," House tries to get them back on track.

"You think they slipped her something?" Remy asks for clarification.

"I do. Go see what it was," he orders them, his dismissal clear.

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**The Next Day, 9:40 am**

Remy steps into the waiting area for the Huntington's drug trial to wait for her appointment. She's a little early, her scheduled time actually being 3:00, but she figures that she should bite the bullet and get to know Janice some more. During their awkward first meeting yesterday, she knows that the other woman is pretty nice and she can't help the spastic actions that her body makes due to the disease. So, as the brunette glances around the waiting room for the other woman, she furrows her brows in confusion when she doesn't see her. She figures that they are moving ahead of schedule for today and thinks nothing of it.

One of the doors to her left opens up and Foreman steps out…with a trial patient that isn't Janice. "Oh, good, you're early," he smiles briefly upon seeing his colleague already in the waiting room.

"Yeah," Remy frowns as she moves into the office to get started. "What happened to the woman that's supposed to be before me? The one with the advanced symptoms," she asks the other doctor as he closes the door behind her.

Taking his seat, Foreman motions for her to do the same so that he can at least work while they talk. "She dropped out," he answers simply as he begins to try testing her reflexes.

"Do you know why?" Hadley pursues the topic.

"No, she didn't give a reason and I didn't feel like breaking into her place to find out," Foreman states. "I only reserve that for special patients," he smiles slightly.

Though she knows the sentiment behind the statement is meant to be joking, Thirteen can't help but narrow her eyes at the other man. "Don't you think that this is a bit of a conflict of interest, us working together with this?" She wonders, subtly questioning his motives.

"I'd like to think that we're keeping it professional," Foreman counters, his smile falling and his expression returning to its usual mask of indifference.

"It still feels kind of like I only got to be in the trial because I know one of the people in charge of it," she continues to express her doubts on the matter.

"You're in it because you have Huntington's and because your nerve degeneration has started already," Foreman replies, not bothering to sugar-coat it for the brunette since she isn't the type of person that would appreciate it. "I would have approached you about the trial even if Cameron didn't ask me to," he is sure to add.

"I had a feeling that she came to you about it," Remy says, her suspicions on the matter officially confirmed.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" The other doctor questions in mild surprise.

"We have bigger issues to talk about than whether or not she lobbied for me to be here," Hadley snorts in response.

"Good point," Foreman concedes. "So, how are things going with you two?" He can't help but ask.

"Better," Remy acknowledges vaguely, wary of the older man's recently discovered interest in her love life. He never was before.

"Well, that's good news then," Foreman smiles weakly before glancing at the clock. "So, I guess we're all set here," he says, almost relieved to have an excuse to remove himself from the tension.

Checking the clock for herself, Thirteen nods in agreement. "Yeah. Taub and Kutner should have the test results back by now," she lies as she stands up. The results shouldn't be back for at least another hour, but the other man doesn't need to know that.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he replies, standing up to get the door for her.

Remy simply nods and offers a half smile before leaving the office. She decides that she has enough time to find out how to get a hold of Janice and ask her personally why she dropped out of the trial.

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**11:30 am**

Tapping her foot impatiently, Hadley waits for Taub and Kutner to get back to the office with the allergy test results on Natalie. After finding the address to the group home where Janice is living, Remy decided that she would wait until her lunch break to go over and talk to her. She didn't want to risk missing the differential and feeling her boss' wrath over it. House simply arches an eyebrow at the brunette's restlessness. However, before he can comment the door opens to reveal the other two members of the team that aren't on 'vacation'.

"Bad news, the results were negative," Kutner announces as soon as he walks in.

"But one of her 'friends' came by to drop off some homework and we found out that she used to be a pretty heavy drinker," Taub reveals to Thirteen and House.

Remy is relieved at the easy answer the new information suggests. "Alcohol withdrawal explains the seizures and the destroyed liver," she offers simply as she stands up and makes her way to the door.

"That's it?" House questions with a snort, wondering where the other woman could possibly be in such a hurry to get to.

"I'm going with alcohol abuse," she says firmly before exiting the office.

"We're not talking about your personal life," House calls out, the other woman still in front of the glass wall of the office as he does so.

Hadley looks over at him, shakes her head, and points to her ear with her left hand. "I can't hear you," the brunette mouths to the older man, never breaking her stride, much to the amusement of Kutner and Taub. House just frowns.

Remy steps into the elevator and smirks. She knows that House knows damn well that she could hear him through the glass, but the peevish look on his face was worth it.

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**45 Minutes Later**

Remy stalks back into the hospital intent on finding Foreman and confront him about how cold he was towards Janice, causing her to drop out of the trial.

"Rem!" A familiar voice calls from behind the young doctor.

Thirteen turns and waits for the blonde ER doctor to catch up to her. "Something wrong?" She questions, trying to keep the impatience out of her tone.

"I could ask you the same thing," Allison states with an arched eyebrow, but she continues before the other woman has a chance to reply. "Where were you? House came down here 15 minutes ago looking for you," she wonders what could have happened to make her ex-girlfriend look like she is out for blood.

Hadley sighs as she glances down at her watch, deciding that it is probably for the best if she cooled down some before going to talk with Foreman. "Do you have a minute?" She asks hesitantly, knowing that being honest with the other woman would be a very good step forward for the both of them.

"For you? Always," Cameron smiles warmly at the younger doctor as she motions for them to go to her office for some actual privacy.

Once inside the room, Remy runs a tired hand through her hair as she drops into a vacant chair. "Janice, a patient in the Huntington's trial, has some advanced symptoms and her appointment time is right before mine," she begins to explain quietly when the other woman takes the seat next to her.

"Is that Foreman's idea of a joke?" The blonde inquires with a disapproving frown, earning a humorless smile from the other woman.

"She didn't show up this morning and when I asked Foreman he told me that she dropped out but he didn't care to ask her why," Thirteen scoffs at the last part.

"That sounds about right," Allison muses at the very in-character behavior of her former teammate.

"So, I found Janice and asked her for myself. It turns out that she was starting to have some painful side effects and he just told her to 'get over it'," Remy sneers out her colleague's response with distaste, wondering how he could be so uncaring to a patient.

"Wow," Cameron shakes her head in stunned amazement, her thoughts on the matter similar to that of the other woman's. "That sounds a lot like-"

"House?" The taller of the two guesses the answer. Allison nods. "That's what I thought too. I mean, she knows that she doesn't have a lot of time left, with or without the drugs. She told me that, because of this, she has to be selective about how she spends what time she _**does**_ have left and who she spends it with," she releases a sigh as she remembers Janice's words from earlier.

Allison feels her heart stop for a moment when she sees a look of sadness and regret pass over the other woman's face. She reaches over and takes a hold of one of Remy's hands. "You know-"

The ER doctor's words are cut off by the sound of Thirteen's pager sounding. "Natalie is having a seizure," the brunette explains before hesitantly standing. "Thanks for listening Ally," she sincerely states.

"Thanks for talking," Allison readily replies as she rises from her chair and goes to follow her ex-girlfriend out of the office. "Give me a call later and tell me how the talk with Foreman goes…if you want," she hastily adds the last part. She knows that there's nothing she can do to prevent the dark-haired woman from confronting Foreman...not that she would want to stop her in the first place.

"Okay," Remy smiles and nods before rushing off to the patient's aide.

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**2:15 pm**

So, after dealing with Natalie's seizure, Remy and the rest of the team find themselves back in the Diagnostics Office upstairs for the differential.

"So it's not TB and this puts brain involvement back on the table," House announces as he rewrites 'brain' on the whiteboard. Enter Cuddy.

"The patient's liver is seriously failing now and she needs to be put on a transplant list," the dean informs the group.

Ignoring the other woman's words, House focuses on her presence in general. "Why do you keep coming back here?" The other doctor questions. "Is it because you have the hots for me and really hate the patient or you really hate me and have the hots for the patient?" He wonders smugly.

"Maybe she's just a nice kid and I'm looking out for her," Cuddy snaps in response and the team just sits and watches the verbal sparring match. "I think it could be hepatic fibrosis," she then suggests, trying to get back on track.

"No. Does she remind you of yourself in high school?" House condescendingly questions and shoots down her suggestion simultaneously before frowning. "No, you're too attractive to have been unpopular. It must be the emotional fallout from your failed adoption," he corrects his first assumption.

Remy watches the dean's face fall slightly at the mention of the adoption that fell through a number of weeks ago. "One has nothing to do with the other," Cuddy responds to the other man's assertion.

"The mushrooms may have something to do with Natalie's condition after all," Thirteen cuts in before House can further antagonize the other woman, earning a brief grateful smile from the dean.

"She ate the 'shrooms days ago so she would be better by now if she was allergic to them," Kutner cuts down the younger doctor's theory.

"I wasn't suggesting an allergy. It might be a fungal infection," Remy retorts before turning to House for his opinion on the matter.

"The infection could cause her symptoms to get worse and linger," House agrees thoughtfully, his attention successfully diverted from Cuddy. "Run the prick test to determine if she's allergic so we can rule that out," he says to Taub and Thirteen. "Get her started on antifungal medication," is what he instructs Kutner to do.

The three present members of the team get up to do the assigned errands. As she walks past Cuddy, Thirteen offers a tentative understanding squeeze on the shoulder that's so brief that even House doesn't pick up on it. She walks out the door and looks back to see an appreciative smile on the dean's face at the gesture.

Cuddy, for her part, shoots House a final scornful glare before exiting the office as well. "Thank you," she quietly says to the younger doctor as she approaches her in the hallway.

Remy, not having heard the other woman come up, is startled as she turns to face her boss' boss. "You still seemed a little raw from that incident with Becca and the adoption from a few weeks back. I figured that the last thing you need right now is House rubbing your face in it," she shrugs modestly in explanation as they begin to leisurely make their way down the hall.

"I was going to be a mother," Cuddy sighs regretfully as she thinks about it. "I guess it wasn't meant to be," she decides She tries to keep the sadness from seeping into her voice, especially in front of the younger doctor, unsure why she is even confiding in her in the first place. _Because she's a mother herself, duh_. She chides herself.

Hadley stops walking and studies the woman before her for a moment. "At the risk of sounding callous, it seems like Becca needed to keep her baby so that she could turn her life around and prove to herself that she was worth something," she notes carefully. "It may hurt now, but there was a reason that it had to happen that way. I know you'll get a chance at being a mother and I know that you'll be great at it," she continues when the older woman doesn't immediately react.

Cuddy feels the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes at the taller woman's words. "Careful Dr. Hadley, you're beginning to sound uncharacteristically optimistic. We wouldn't want you to ruin your brooding and mysterious reputation because of this," she jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The brunette smiles enigmatically at the dean. "I'm sure it'll all work out."

"I never took you to be the kind of person that believed that everything happens for a reason," Lisa states matter-of-factly.

"I don't...but other people seem to put a lot of stock in this whole 'fate' thing," Remy hesitates for a moment after saying this. "Besides, instinct tells me that this will turn out just fine. All of the bad things in life make the good things that much better," she continues thoughtfully, acknowledging the truth in that statement.

The shorter woman can't help but smile at the younger brunette, having just come to the conclusion that Thirteen has a real soft spot when it comes to children, and not just her own. "I'll see you later, Dr. Hadley," she says, already feeling a hundred times better than she did during her encounter with House.

"Bye, Dr. Cuddy," Remy nods, a small smile tugging at her lips as she turns and makes her way to the elevator.

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**The Next Day (Saturday), 9:35 am**

Remy finds herself waiting for her appointment with Foreman for the trial. She shifts awkwardly in her seat, not looking forward to this meeting with the other doctor at all. Yesterday, when she confronted him about how he acted towards Janice, she accused him of being exactly like House. Understandably he was upset by the comparison.

Her apprehension is made worse by the fact that moments ago, in the Diagnostics Office, the team determined that Natalie has leukemia. Since they don't know why her liver is failing, she won't be able to get a liver transplant. If she can't get a liver transplant, then no matter what they do for the leukemia, she's still going to die. It's a bad situation all around.

Thirteen sighs when the office door opens and Foreman steps out with his current patient. She stands up and silently follows him in, not wanting to talk if she can avoid it.

Foreman clears his throat awkwardly at receiving the cold shoulder from the younger woman as they begin to check her reflexes to see if the drug is working. "So, are you, uh, going to the Christmas party tonight?" He questions, getting no response other than an unimpressed arched eyebrow. "I, um, went and spoke to Janice yesterday," he tells her after a moment of the continuously uncomfortable silence.

"Oh?" The brunette asks vaguely.

"She's going to be starting on a trial for the same drug at a lower dose next week. Her nausea won't be nearly as bad," he explains as they set to work.

At this, Hadley's expression softens considerably. "That's good to hear," she says.

Foreman allows himself to relax now that she doesn't seem as angry anymore. He carefully takes her arm. "Consider it my Christmas gift to you," he smiles.

That, apparently, is the wrong thing to say seeing as how Remy jerks her arm away from him. "What?" She snaps at him.

"I thought that's what you wanted, for Janice to be back in the trial," he answers uncertainly.

"You should have got her back into the trial for _**her**_ sake, not _**mine**_. You shouldn't have to use me as an excuse to act like an actual human and be nice to someone, Eric," Thirteen scoffs. She shakes her head at the older man as she stands up and makes her way out the door.

Foreman curses himself for not knowing when to just stop talking.

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**6:00 pm**

Despite the team's best efforts, Natalie is still going to die, making the news of her daughter still being alive bittersweet. Needless to say, Remy is not in the mood to celebrate the Christmas spirit. Upon leaving the locker room, she realizes that she must have left her lab coat, with her wallet in it, upstairs in the Diagnostics Office. With a heavy sigh, she heads towards the elevator to go retrieve it. However, as she passes a particular hospital room, she pauses in the doorway.

The single occupant, as if sensing the other woman's presence, turns around and offers a soft smile when she sees who it is. "Natalie's and Simon's parents decided to put her up for adoption. They said it would be too painful to keep her," Cuddy informs the younger doctor.

"I heard," Remy acknowledges as she tentatively makes her way into the room to stand by the dean.

"The state is going to grant me temporary custody as a foster parent and, if it works out, in six months I'll be able to formally adopt her," Lisa continues with a smile directed toward the infant. "I guess you were right about everything working out after all," she muses.

"Yeah," Remy replies in a distracted tone, the sight of the infant only serving to remind her how alone she is right now. She misses her daughter and she misses Allison. "Merry Christmas, Cuddy," she quietly wishes the other woman, her voice thick with emotion as she turns to leave.

Before the taller woman can get too far, the dean stops her with a hand gently placed on her forearm. "Things will work out for you too," she assures the other woman with a knowing smile.

"At least someone thinks so," she jokes halfheartedly before walking out of the room.

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Remy spends her short ride in the elevator thinking about everything that has happened in the last few days. She knows, deep down, that the main reason she feels so involved with Janice is from the lingering guilt she still has from hating her own mother. The other woman just seems to bring all of her old memories back.

Exiting the elevator, the brunette's thoughts go from her mother to her daughter. As much as she doesn't want Alex to grow up hating her, she knows that she doesn't want to stop being her mother or being in her life. By participating in the drug trial, she has a real chance at living a normal life with her daughter and, hopefully, Allison.

Taking no notice of the lights still being on in the Diagnostics Office, a distracted Thirteen enters and is caught off guard by a familiar figure standing by the window and looking out into the snowy night sky. Her breath hitches slightly when she sees her lab coat in the other woman's arms and Remy realizes that she has been waiting for her.

At the noise, Allison turns from the window towards the door. "Hi," the blonde tentatively greets her.

"Hi," a stunned Hadley replies. "What are you…Why do you have…" she trails off, unsure what to make of the ER doctor waiting for her up here with her lab coat.

At the other woman's vague hand gestures, Allison furrows her brows before glancing down at the coat in her arms. "I stole it from your locker. I figured it would be the best way to get you up here," she confesses with a slight blush.

"You could have just asked to meet me up here, it would have been a lot easier," Remy smiles at the blonde doctor.

"It wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic, though," Cameron retorts, trying to keep a straight face. The brunette's laughter, however, is her undoing as she breaks as well.

Thirteen casually walks over to stand next to the blonde by the window, trying to keep down her excitement at being in the older woman's presence. _Not getting to see her everyday, I forgot how much she makes my heart race just by being near me._

"Your plan to lure me up here with my lab coat obviously worked. Now what?" Remy voices as she watches the snow flurries outside twist in the wind as they fall to the ground.

When there is no answer forthcoming, Thirteen turns towards the quiet blonde and the thoughtful expression on her face. Before the dark-haired doctor has a chance to comment, Allison has a hand on her cheek and her lips on her own in a sweet kiss. Remy hears the sound of her lab coat falling to the ground with a thud, but she can't bring herself to care as she rests her hands on the blonde's hips.

Their lips part from one another's when the need for oxygen becomes too important. However, instead of pulling away completely, Remy's arms wrap around the blonde's body to pull her into a close embrace. Allison's arms go around the taller woman's waist and she buries her face in the younger doctor's neck, inhaling her scent for the first time in over a month.

It's in this very moment, with their bodies wrapped tightly around each other's as a gesture of love and security, that both women feel that, maybe, things will be all right after all.

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Yay, a chapter with a happy ending! I wonder how long it will last this time around. Also, I had to do some major rewriting for the last chunk of the story (everything after '**6:00 pm**') because I didn't like the dialogue and it was too corny (and out of character for Thirteen and Cameron). That's why it took so long to post this.

I thought Foreman's behavior towards Thirteen during and before the trial was creepy so I didn't have to make it too much worse for this. At least Thirteen won't be interested. It's almost like a love triangle, but not really since Thirteen doesn't care. Oh, and because I thought it was funny on the show, I felt the need to use the 'I can't hear you' scene in _Let Them Eat Cake_. I couldn't use it in the last chapter because Thirteen was in the hospital room the whole time. Also, am I the only one horribly depressed by the Foreteen relationship on the show? It sucks.

For the sake of future subplots, it was important that Thirteen be the one to talk to Cuddy near the end because of the whole 'baby' thing. I'm actually pretty happy with how the Cuddy and Thirteen parts turned out.

**Hal**, I usually hate original characters in stories too, especially if they are major ones. Usually I even hate having to write original characters so I don't do it often. But, for some reason, I really like using Alexis and Robert (in moderation) here.

**CdnGirl01**, I plan on incorporating Thirteen's recent medical troubles when I get to the episodes _Big Baby_ and _The Greater Good_. Obviously I am going to have to change some motivations, but it'll be there.

**Pink Starship**, I _**did **_see _Unfaithful_ and I almost cried when Thirteen and Foreman still ended up together. That just makes me want to torment him and get rid of him in this story. Even Chase and Cameron sitting together on the couch saddened me. The problem with Cameron offering her the job was that the job was in a different hospital…which would have sucked. In _It's A Wonderful Lie_, both the old and new teams were chatting in the end, but Cadley _**did**_ share a sweet smile, which I liked.

A few minor updates on my profile if you're interested. Also posted chapter two ("St. Patrick's Day") of _**This Year Will Be Different**_. It's short, kind of cute, and won't take long to read. Check it out if you like. _Painless_ will be the next episode tackled here. Overall, this chapter feels kind of weird to me. I don't know if it's because of the length or what. Let me know what _**you**_ think.


	13. Awkward Conversations

**Spoilers!**: The first part of_ Painless_.

**A/N**: This is almost a complete rewrite of the actual episode. The only things that you would recognize is the medical stuff, some dialogue, and a few of the big plot points that are integral to future chapters.

**A/N2**: Also, takes place two weeks after the last chapter, setting this just after New Year's. The end of this one is considerably lighter since chapter 15 is going to get started with the 'Drug Trial Drama'.

**A/N3**: This episode will also be split into two chapters because it will be way too long to keep in one. There were too many loose ends from the last chapter that I need to address as well as actual episode stuff. This chapter is still pretty long.

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**Chapter Thirteen - Awkward Conversations**

**Two Weeks Later, 11:30 am**

Having just received a page from House indicating that they have a new patient, Thirteen is the first to arrive in the Diagnostics Office. She is soon joined by Kutner, Taub and, lastly, Foreman. When House finally making his appearance and tosses a file onto the table, Remy's interest is piqued when Allison follows him in.

"I'm sure you're just trying to teach me some sort of lesson about dealing with chronic pain," House mocks the ER doctor as Hadley skims through the file with Kutner, infuriatingly, trying to read over her shoulder.

"What kind of lesson would she be teaching: if you are always in pain you should kill yourself?" Remy scoffs, earning a glare from her boss and an amused smirk from the blonde. She turns her attention back to the file.

"I'm just hoping that you'll be able to help Jeff," Cameron argues her former boss once he returns his attention to her.

"Sure you are," he snorts disbelievingly.

"I've given up hope of you trying to help yourself a long time ago," the other woman refuses to give in.

"It could be fibromyalgia," Thirteen cuts in, more as an attempt to diffuse the situation than to offer a genuine diagnosis.

"Fibromyalgia provides neither an explanation or a cure. Some people don't even consider it a real disease," Allison can't help but snap, knowing the brunette well enough to say that she should know better than to try and use that as a diagnosis in this case.

Hadley arches an incredulous eyebrow at the ER doctor for biting her head off. It is in this moment that Cameron realizes that the taller woman was simply trying to get the conversation back on the patient instead of House's problems. So, in response, Allison mouths a 'sorry' to the other woman. House catches the silent exchange, but doesn't get the chance to respond to it as another one of his underlings decides to speak up.

"That's not true considering the American College of Rheumatology has specific diagnostic criteria for it," Foreman defends Thirteen's suggestion.

Remy looks down under the guise of checking the patient's file and responds before Allison has the chance. "She's right," she says as if just coming to that conclusion upon closer inspection.

"Jeff doesn't meet the criteria," the blonde expands on the other woman's comment, suppressing a smile.

"Since he tried to kill himself, I think it's evident that Jeff has some psychological problems. I think we should consider the possibility that his pain is all in his head," Taub cuts in.

"He tried to kill himself _**because **_of the pain," Allison argues back, casting a sidelong glance towards Remy in response to the brunette's uncharacteristic silence and knowing that this is a bit of a sore subject for the other woman.

"A rational person wouldn't try and kill himself," the shorter doctor replies.

"Okay, what would you do if you were being burned at the stake and someone handed you a gun?" Kutner smugly questions, thinking that he has found a loophole in the other man's logic.

"I'd shoot the people burning me at the stake," is the balding man's deadpan answer.

House watches the concerned expression Cameron is directing towards Thirteen as the men discuss the topic of suicide. In a rare display of selflessness, he decides to intervene. "We'll take the case," he announces, gaining everyone's undivided attention. "Taub, check to see if the patient's pain is psychosomatic; Thirteen, check the patient's home; and Kutner, get me a refill on my Vicodin and a donut," he orders the members of his team. Allison sighs visibly in relief.

"I'll go with Thirteen to Jeff's house," Foreman offers, earning an odd look from the blonde woman. Remy doesn't seem to notice the exchange and House watches the three doctors in amusement.

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**Jeff's House, 1:45 pm**

Foreman steps into the garage from the main part of the house and finds Thirteen going through the different chemicals on one of the metal shelves.

"I found a ton of pain medications, but Jeff seems a lot more responsible about taking them than House," he informs the other woman. "Nice car," he then notes conversationally towards the car parked in the garage.

Remy glances over her shoulder at the car in question before returning to her previous activity. "I wouldn't try to kill myself using car exhaust," she replies absently as she reads the labels on some of the contains on the shelf.

This seems to grab the other doctor's attention. "Uh…are you-"

"I'm not planning on offing myself, if that's what you were going to ask," the brunette cuts him off after realizing how it must have sounded.

"Good," Foreman nods before appearing to struggle with his words. "Why have you been avoiding me since before Christmas?" He then wonders.

"I've seen you during my appointments and, besides, I've been busy," Hadley shrugs nonchalantly, not wanting to get into it with the other man right now. She begins going through the refrigerator.

The other man seems to consider this for a moment. "Then, would you maybe want to get some dinner or something sometime?" He questions her as he toys with the bag of medications in his hand.

With her back to her coworker, Remy rolls her eyes. "No," she simply replies, wondering why he would even bother asking.

"Is it because we're coworkers?" He wonders, trying to get a read on the brunette.

At this, Remy can't help but laugh as she closes the refrigerator door. "Are you seriously asking me if I have a problem dating a coworker?" She asks incredulously, referring to her spending a year and a half dating another doctor at the hospital.

"Well then, if that's not the reason, then why…" the older man trails off, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

By now, the brunette is thoroughly convinced that the other doctor is just a glutton for punishment. "Because I'm still very much in love with Allison and starting a relationship with you would be counterproductive," she informs him with a sigh as she massages the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"It's just dinner," Foreman attempts to backtrack…this conversation going in completely the opposite direction that he had hoped.

"It's never _**just **_dinner, Eric," Hadley calls his bluff as she goes to investigate the freezer.

"Coffee, then…as friends?" He falls back on that reliable old standby.

"Quail," is what the other man gets as a response.

"What?" Foreman asks, confused at the randomness.

Remy opens the freezer door wider so that her coworker can look in. "Quail-related food poisoning could cause rhabdomyolyisis, which could explain his pain," she says, her mind focused on the case.

"How do you know it's quail?" The taller man questions, wondering how anyone would be able to identify the meat just by looking at it zipped up in a baggy and frozen.

"Because it has the word 'quail' written on it with a Sharpie," Thirteen rolls her eyes, silently adding 'Dumbass' at the end of her sentence.

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**The Next Day, 9:35 am**

The office door opens and Thirteen stands up in anticipation of getting her appointment with Foreman over with so she can get to work. She is shocked to see Janice stepping out of the office instead of the usual 9:20 patient.

"Hey!" Remy greets the other woman in surprise. The older woman seems to be doing better with her symptoms.

"Hi, Dr. Hadley," Janice replies with a wide smile.

"You look a lot better," Hadley states, happy for the other woman.

"I definitely feel better than I have in years and they say that my basal ganglia volume has improved," Janice explains, clearly pleased with the results. "I just want to thank you, Dr. Hadley, for helping me get back into the trial," she adds, placing a hand gratefully on the young doctor's arm.

"I'm glad it's been working out for you," Remy states sincerely. "I haven't seen you in a while since our appointments have different times," she continues.

"Not anymore. Mine just got changed this morning," Janice corrects her.

"That's great I-"

"Remy?" Foreman's voice calls from the doorway to the office.

"Sorry. I have to…" Thirteen apologizes, trailing off as she indicates the other doctor.

"Of course. I'll see you later, Dr. Hadley," Janice nods in understanding.

"Bye," Remy says before disappearing into the office. She waits for Foreman to shut the door. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She immediately starts in on him.

The other doctor frowns slightly. "My job," he answers back, sounding more like a question as he does so.

"So, you think that by moving Janice's appointment time before mine I'll get to witness the drug working and fill with hope so that I'll have a change of heart and want to fuck you?" She snipes, not wanting to play games.

"I don't make the schedules. Janice being here this morning has nothing to do with me. I think you're giving yourself too much credit," Foreman brushes off the accusations, glad that she wouldn't be able to tell if he was to blush, as he points to the chair in front of the desk.

"Sorry," Remy mumbles, admittedly feeling a little foolish now. She sits down. Foreman reaches out and takes her hand, earning a sharp look from the other woman.

"I am just checking for Huntington's symptoms…no intimacy involved," he promises in a droll tone.

"Could you just…not be so condescending about me not wanting to get involved?" Thirteen questions, growing frustrated by his attitude.

"I'm sorry," is his contrite response and the pair is drenched in silence once again, but he is unable to let it rest like that. "I just think that you need support is all," he defends himself.

At this, Remy snatches her arm away from his grasp. "Well, Jeff needs support too and, yet, he keeps traumatizing his support system," she replies, trying to give him some kind of a comparison.

"I'm sure that his family is happy to have him around, sick or healthy, and they wouldn't trade him for anything," Foreman is quick to point out.

"You know what? I've been there, okay, and Jeff's family has to suffer right along with him," she states, vaguely referring to her mother.

They are saved from this conversation as the door opens to reveal Kutner and Taub. Hadley decides that, no matter what, she's leaving the office with them and not sticking around with Foreman.

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**1:10 pm**

Leaving Kutner to take Jeff in for an angioplasty, Remy makes her way to the ER to find a certain blonde doctor. After spending most of her day with Foreman, she needs someone to vent to…some she knows will listen. So, moments after knocking on the office door, Thirteen is given the okay to enter.

"Hi," Hadley greets the other woman, suddenly shy about having just shown up.

At the sound of the brunette's voice, Allison looks up, a pleased smile on her face. "Hey," she says back, glad at the surprise appearance of the younger doctor. "Is everything okay?" She then asks, knowing that she must have a reason for here in the middle of the day.

"Yeah, of course," is the immediate reply before the taller woman seems to deflate a little. "No…Foreman is annoying the hell out of me," she confesses, dropping into a chair in front of the desk.

"How so?" Cameron questions as she moves around the desk to take the seat next to her ex-girlfriend, already concerned about the answer.

"Well, you remember Janice?" Remy wonders, just to make sure they are on the same page. The blonde nods. "Apparently, she is getting better…and I know this because _**someone **_changed her appointment time to just before mine," she pointedly states.

"And you think it was Foreman," Allison completes the other woman's thoughts, unconsciously placing her hand on the brunette's forearm.

"He said it wasn't him, but I don't know…and he asked me out to dinner when we were inspecting the patient's house yesterday," she adds with a sigh, leaning her head back on the chair and staring at the ceiling.

Cameron feels the cold grip of panic squeezing her heart. "What did you tell him?" She forces herself to ask.

Remy, for her part, shoots the blonde an irritated glare out of the corner of her eye. "I didn't really need to _**tell **_him anything. I just figured that me having sex with him on the hood of Jeff's car in the garage would be enough of an answer," she snarks, annoyed that the other woman would even _**think **_that she would consider dating Foreman.

Allison's jaw drops slightly before she places the mocking tone in the brunette's voice. "So you turned him down and, a day later, you get to see Janice's symptoms getting better," she paraphrases and appears deep in thought. In reality, she is holding down her anger at her former colleague. _That manipulative bastard!_

"Yeah," Hadley sighs, running her fingers through her hair. "But I'm sure it's probably just because we're working so close with the drug trial. It'll wear off eventually," she determines.

"Right," Cameron absently agrees, deciding not to tell her about how the other man seemed overly eager to include Thirteen in the drug trial when she asked him last year.

Before Remy has a chance to reply to the blonde's unconvinced tone, her pager goes off. "Jeff just tried to kill himself again," she sighs before, reluctantly, standing up.

Allison rises as well and walks her to the office door. "Are you still coming over tonight?" She quickly asks before she forgets.

"I hope so," the taller woman replies with a small smile, hoping that things settle down with the patient long enough for her to go to her dad's house to see Allison and Alexis tonight.

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**Cuddy's House, 3:30 pm**

Thirteen stands next to the baby's crib as she watches House and Cuddy bicker about the improper supervision of a suicidal patient and House's personal hygiene. As soon as Cuddy places Rachel back in the crib, Hadley looks down and smiles at her.

"Hey there," Remy greets the infant, lightly tickling the baby's side with her index finger, earning a smile and a few garbled sounds as she takes a hold of Thirteen's index finger.

"Jeff's depressed and that's where his pain is coming from. Now, I have a DYFS inspection coming up and I would appreciate it if you all left," Cuddy snaps, glaring at House in particular. He doesn't seem like he's planning on leaving any time soon.

"Non-motor seizures," Hadley blurts out in an attempt to diffuse the building tension…it's not good for the baby. She receives an odd stare from House and Cuddy. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about the patient," she sarcastically points out, paying no mind to the infant still toying with Remy's fingers.

Cuddy, on the other hand, does notice Rachel and Remy's interaction and she can't help the smile that forms on her face…until House keeps talking.

"The EEG results were cleaner than Cuddy's rubber nipples," the older man notes. Cuddy shoots him a dirty look.

"What about a glycogen storage disease?" Foreman offers.

"Well, together, Foreteen have come up with a good diagnosis!" House proclaims, reveling in the irritated glare his female Fellow is sending him.

"Run an ischemic forearm test," Cuddy directs the group as she hands Kutner the dirty diaper. "Throw this away on your way out," she tells him.

"Hey, if you want a man to take your crap, you're going to have to marry him first," House tries to stick up for his employee.

"Or hire him," the other woman retorts as she picks up her daughter, resulting in muffled laughter from the fellows.

"Come on," House scowls at the team, leaving Kutner to dispose of the diaper…his punishment for laughing at House.

"Dr. Hadley," Cuddy calls before the other woman can exit the room.

"Yeah?" Remy asks, wondering why the dean would need to speak to her specifically and not the rest of the team as well.

"I just…" the older woman trails off with a sigh before Thirteen slowly makes her way over to stand next Cuddy by the crib. "I don't know if I can do this," she confesses quietly, inherently knowing that she can trust the other woman, even as she struggles to hold the infant comfortably.

Remy smiles fondly as she moves to help Lisa cradle Rachel's head and body more easily. "You know what the difference between you and every other mother is?" She asks the older woman.

"What?" Cuddy wonders, unsure if it's even possible to feel any more despondent than she already did. _Maybe talking to Thirteen wasn't a good idea after all_.

"With the exception of not having to worry about losing all that baby weight, there is _**no **_difference," the taller woman assures her, remembering when she was in the same position as her boss' boss is in now. "You're scared shitless of scarring the child for life and making all the right decisions and if you're going to be a good parent," she clarifies her statement.

"So, what do I do to fix that?" Lisa wonders, beginning to feel more at ease with the child in her arms.

"Nothing...it's all just trial and error. It's never all sunshine and rainbows with kids," is the honest reply.

"Easy for _**you **_to say, Alexis is a really good kid," the dean scoffs.

"But she, too, was once just a screaming, crying, eating, sleeping, and pooping machine. You have to work at it constantly, but it's worth it," the younger doctor smiles.

"How…How did you do it?" The dean manages to ask, not sure how comfortable the other brunette will be in discussing her past.

"After Olivia…" Remy trails off with a sigh. "After she died, I was really scared because I was only 19. It was just me and this little kid that depended on me for everything. I didn't think I could do it either-"

"But you did," Lisa cuts the taller woman off. "How?" She reiterates desperately.

"I had a lot of help. I had my dad and, eventually, Olivia's parents. It was hard working and going to school all the time, but it wouldn't have even been possible without them," Remy informs the dean.

"I don't have anyone like that," Cuddy sighs as she looks down at, Rachel sleeping in her arms.

Thirteen takes pause at the other woman's tone. "You have me," she offers after a moment.

The shorter doctor looks over at her in surprise. "Really?" She asks, daring to hope.

"Yeah," Hadley confirms with a warm smile. "I'd offer you my phone number, but I'm sure you have it on file somewhere," she smirks.

"You're really serious," Cuddy gapes, taken aback by the younger woman's offer to help, despite her own problems in her personal life.

"I've been there so I know how overwhelming it can be. Feel free to call me if you need anything," the taller brunette says.

"Day or night?" Lisa challenges suspiciously.

"If need be," Remy shrugs.

"I might have to take you up on that," the older woman chuckles, gently setting Rachel back into her crib. Before the Thirteen has a chance to reply, her pager goes off. "House?" She guesses.

"Yep, telling me to stop staring at your 'fun-bags' and get my ass back to the hospital," Remy shakes her head in amusement. "So, I guess I'll be on my way. Do you need anything before I go?" She asks.

"No, but thank you…for everything," is the sincere answer before Cuddy returns her attention to the sleeping baby. Remy smiles softly before quietly slipping out of the room.

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**That Night, 9:15 pm**

Remy smiles sweetly as Alex begins to drift off to sleep, the older of the two reclining back on top of the blankets with the younger tucked in. "Sleep tight, Lexi," she whispers quietly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind the eye year old's ear.

"'Kay," Alex yawns, closing her eyes and snuggling deeper into her bed. Her mother tries to slide off of the bed as carefully as possible so as not to disturb her.

Placing a final kiss on the dark-haired girl's forehead, Thirteen heads over to the bedroom door. She doesn't get far before a soft voice draws her back in. "Mom?" Alex calls out hesitantly.

"Yeah, Sweetheart?" Remy replies as she moves closer to the bed.

"Are Ally and me ever going to come back home?" She asks warily.

With a sigh, the young doctor brushes her hand lightly over her daughter's shoulder. "I love you both more than anything in the world and nothing is ever going to change that. This isn't going to be forever," she explains patiently.

Alexis nods in acceptance at this response, which is more than she's been able to wheedle out of Ally or Grandpa Rob. "I love you, Mom," she says, closing her eyes once again.

"I love you too," Remy replies before slowing turning back around to find Allison watching from the doorway with a fond smile. The brunette waits until after she has stepped out of the room and closed the door before saying anything. "Hey," she shyly greets the shorter woman.

"How's she doing?" Allison asks, even though she witnessed enough to know that the eight year old is just fine.

"Asleep…finally," the younger doctor answers with a smirk, still getting re-acclimated to sheer volume of questions that her daughter can ask.

"She misses you," the blonde states simply as an explanation as to why Alexis had been so reluctant to go to bed tonight.

"I miss her too," Hadley says, moving her gaze from the closed bedroom door back to the woman in front of her. "And I miss you," she adds quietly but sincerely, taking one of the blonde's hands in her own.

"But you see me almost everyday at work," Allison smartly replies, trying to keep the mood from dropping.

"That's not quite the same as seeing you at home though, is it?" Remy challenges with an arched eyebrow as she begins to make her way towards the living room.

"No, I don't suppose that it is," Cameron agrees, a smile tugging at her lips.

"What?" Robert asks, slightly distracted, as he hears the tail-end of the blonde's sentence.

"Nothing," Thirteen shakes her head.

"Oh, I meant to ask earlier but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Alexis. How's the trial going?" Robert wonders, tearing his gaze away from the TV.

The question results in an irritated groan escaping from the brunette. "Aside from Foreman, it's fine," she answers him honestly.

"What did Foreman do now?" Cameron butts in, narrowing her eyes at the thought of her former colleague giving her…_girlfriend?_…a hard time again. She gets mentally stuck on that word for a moment, but the other woman's voice shakes her out of it.

"Nothing really. He still gives me this wounded expression when he thinks I'm not paying attention. It's probably just because I keep snapping at him when he starts acting weird," Remy rolls her eyes as she talks about the other man.

Allison merely nods her head in response, thinking about Foreman's odd behavior since before the drug trial even started. She makes a mental note to speak to him tomorrow.

"All that aside, how do you feel with the drug? Any differences?" The other Hadley finds himself asking, the blonde woman's pensive expression not escaping his notice.

Remy frowns slightly as she ponders the question. "Not really. I mean, I don't know how long until it's supposed to start working, though. Janice's symptoms are a lot further along and I'm not sure if that makes a difference," she admits, unsure of what this actually means, before glancing at the clock on the far wall.

"You got a date or something?" Cameron jokingly wonders as she follows the brunette's gaze.

"Jealous?" Thirteen deflects teasingly, causing the other woman's face to fall slightly. "Of course I don't. It's just getting late and I should head on home," she reassures the slightly older doctor, briefly resting her hand on the blonde's shoulder to emphasize her sincerity.

"Getting late? It's only 9:30," Cameron replies with equal parts incredulity and amusement as she steps closer to the taller woman, placing her hands on the brunette's waist.

"Well, believe it or not, I haven't been in bed any later than 10 pm since that thing in the Clinic last year," Remy retorts playfully, it being agreed among them all that the hostage situation only be mentioned with the vaguest of terms. She casually allows the hand resting on the other woman's shoulder to slide down to the blonde's arm, her other hand mirroring the action on the other side.

"Hmm," Allison practically purrs at the contact.

Robert watches the entire exchange from his position on the couch, an eyebrow quirked in silent laughter. _Even when they aren't really 'together', they can't stay away from each other_. He muses over the blatant flirting and the way they can't seem to keep from gravitating to one another when they are in the same room. As adorable as he finds the pair, he really doesn't want to see his daughter and the woman that he considers to be his _**second **_daughter start to practically have sex in the middle of his living room. If he doesn't intervene, it looks as though that is exactly where the two women are headed.

The subtle sound of the older man's throat clearing in the background seems to cut through the haze the two doctors found themselves stuck in. They awkwardly break apart, blushing at the fact that they forgot the other man was even still in the room.

"So, um, yeah. I'm just going to go then," Remy quickly says before grabbing her coat off the side of the couch. "Bye Dad," she says to the older Hadley, smirking slightly when he sends a knowing wink her way.

"Yeah. I…um, it's getting late," Allison stumbles over her words, still reeling from the intrusion, as it sinks in that the other woman is leaving.

The brunette pauses in front of the shorter doctor and they share a meaningful look. Hesitating for only a moment, Thirteen then leans in and places a gentle and all-too-brief kiss on Cameron's lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ally," the younger woman softly promises, their faces still dangerously close.

"Okay, Rem," Allison nods almost imperceptibly as she brings a hand up, cups the other woman's cheek and brings her face down for another kiss.

When Remy pulls away, she takes a hold of the hand on her face and interlaces their fingers. She gives the other woman a questioning look at her being the one to initiate the previous kiss. "Does this mean that we're-"

"Yes," Cameron cuts in eagerly, already knowing what the brunette was about to ask.

"Really?" Thirteen questions, just to be certain, a smile forming as she dares to hope.

"Absolutely," the ER doctor enthusiastically confirms, nodding her head emphatically.

"Great," Remy responds with a giddy grin before dropping another brief kiss on the blonde's lips. "So, I will see you tomorrow then," she repeats one of her earlier sentiments as she begins to back her way towards the front door so as not to have to look away.

This inattention to where she is walking causes her to almost trip completely over an end table. She turns just in time to save a lamp from shattering on the ground. "Ha," she chuckles sheepishly before opening the front door. "See you guys later," are her parting words before heading outside.

Allison bites her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the dark-haired woman. She can barely reign in the overwhelming sense of elation she feels in knowing that she and Remy are back together.

"And thus ends the break-up that really wasn't…finally," Robert snorts in amusement at their behavior.

"What are you talking about? We were totally broken up," Allison challenges the other man, too happy to be indignant.

"You never broke up completely…it was more of a trial separation than anything," he argues good-naturedly.

The ER doctor practically skips over to the couch to sit next to him. "Not even you and your snarky comments can bring me down right now," she announces before turning towards him with a familiar grin.

"Do _**not **_squeal!" Robert all but orders, not sure if his eardrums can take the punishment. He watches as she bites down on her lip to contain herself. "I'm serious. Alex is sleeping," he reminds her.

Allison grips his arm closest to her with both hands. "Come on, you can't pretend that you aren't happy that she and I are back together," she blurts out, shaking his captive arm with excitement.

At this point, Robert can no longer keep from laughing at the blonde woman. He is, admittedly, glad that the couple managed to work through the worst of their problems…especially in his daughter's case.

"Okay, I'm happy for you both," the older Hadley confesses. "Now settle down before you hurt yourself. What are you, six?" He teases, receiving a slight nudge in response.

In the darkened hallway, an eight year old girl stands up from her position just outside of the living room. Careful not to get caught, she creeps back to her bedroom, unable to keep the toothy grin off of her face.

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After _The Greater Good_, I won't use much more from the actual episodes except, maybe, stuff from the Patient of the Week or minor dialogue, but not much else. This Foreteen crap has really put a damper on the Cadley potential of the show.

Foreman really is boring and I highly doubt that he is the best the writers can do for Thirteen. Hell, I'd settle for them bringing Spencer back from _Lucky Thirteen_ since they had a whole lot more between them than this sorry excuse for a couple. I'm convinced that they just wanted a reason for House to get to call them 'Foreteen'.

The end of the chapter with Cadley, Robert, and Alexis started out as the beginning of the chapter, but it really got away from me. Can't have them getting back together in the beginning of a chapter. I'm not sure how I feel about them making up right now, though, I hope it doesn't seem like it was too sudden. I kind of wrote this chapter out in, like, several different parts before putting them in order...which is exactly as weird as it sounds. I hope it doesn't feel too choppy.

So, what happens now that they're back together? Expect Cameron to have a talk with Foreman and some more with Cuddy, Rachel, and Thirteen.

Also, chapter three of _**This Year Will Be Different**_ is up. I updated my profile quite a bit (mostly a lot of cleanup) and added a new story that I've been working on. So, check that out if you like and be sure to let me know what you think about this chapter since I'm not really sure about it.


	14. A Bizarre Situation

**Spoilers!**: The end of _Painless_! Also, the longest chapter yet. Sorry about that, I just couldn't wait to finish this damn episode.

**A/N**: Fair warning, Foreman is a bit of a jerk in this chapter. Also, a bit more Camteen (I've officially decided to refer to them using this portmanteau now) and more with Thirteen, Cuddy and Rachel.

**A/N2**: I made up Thirteen's patient number in the trial. Bonus points to whoever can figure out what her patient number represents.

**A/N3**: Another mention of the infamous file that the PI put together on Thirteen back in chapter six. I didn't forget about either that _**or**_ Cuddy forcing Thirteen into therapy in chapter eleven.

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**Chapter Fourteen - A Bizarre Situation**

**The Next Morning, 7:42 am**

Remy is standing in her bathroom wrapped in a towel and blow-drying her hair with a distant smile on her face. Even though she is stressed out from the drug trial, Foreman, House, and her suicidal patient, she can't help but feel a little bit giddy this morning. _Allison and I are back together! _She squeals internally, her smile turning into a full-on grin.

Her light-hearted musings are cut short as she sees her cell phone lighting up and producing an unfamiliar ringtone. She switches off the blow drier and rolls her eyes at the sound of Devo's "Whip It!" as she checks the caller ID. _Why does House keep screwing with my phone?_

"Dr. Cuddy?" Thirteen questions as she answers the cell, her brows furrowed in confusion as to why the dean would be calling her so early.

"_Ha, Dr. Hadley!" _Cuddy releases a laugh of nervous relief.

"Is everything okay?" Remy continues on, confusion easily turning into concern.

_"Funny you should ask. Remember back when you said I could call you if I needed anything?"_ The dean wonders, the distant sound a crying infant sounding in the background.

"Yeah…it was just yesterday," Hadley slowly replies. "What do you need?" She tentatively asks her, almost afraid of the answer if the other woman's frazzled tone is anything to go by.

"_I…I…I don't know what to do! I have been awake for twenty hours straight because Rachel keeps waking up and crying, House keeps bothering me and is deliberately trying to drive me mad and, between the both of them, I haven't even had time to prepare for the inspection today. Oh! And my cleaning lady is running late,"_ Cuddy rambles, obviously near tears.

"Okay…when is the inspection scheduled for?" Thirteen calmly asks, hoping that it'll be able to chill the dean out a little as well. She has the phone cradled between her ear and her shoulder as she quickly goes through her closet for some clothes.

_"An hour!"_ The older woman screeches into the line. The infant cries at the and Cuddy desperately tries to get her to stop.

Remy winces and nearly drops the phone in shock, her previous soothing tone clearly not enough to get Lisa to relax. "Just…breath. If you're calm and gentle, then Rachel will settle down. I'm working on getting dressed right now and I'll be there in twenty minutes. Okay?" She rationalizes with the other woman, pulling on the first pair of black slacks that she grabs, nearly falling over as she does so.

There is a deep, forced exhalation of air from the other end of the line. _"Okay,"_ Lisa agrees, trying to take the other brunette's advice.

"I'll be right over," Remy promises before hanging up and going back to pulling on clothes as fast as she can.

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**Cuddy's House, 8:07 am (18 minutes after the call)**

Hopping out of her Jeep, Remy frowns at the navy blue sedan parked on the street in front of Cuddy's house. She pays no mind to it until, just as she is about to knock on the door, it opens. A startled, official-looking man (complete with his very own clipboard) jumps back at seeing someone standing right _**there**_, but he smiles at her anyways.

"Hi," he greets the young doctor kindly before leaving the house and going to his car.

"Lisa?" Remy calls tentatively, poking her head into the other woman's home. She walks in and steps into the living room to be greeted by the dazed Dean of Medicine sitting on her couch.

"He was early," Cuddy manages to get out, still a little thrown by the encounter.

At this, Hadley's face falls. "Oh, I'm _**so **_sorry I wasn't able to get here sooner. I-"

"I passed the inspection," the older woman interrupts before dropping her face into her hands and leaning her elbows on her knees.

Hadley furrows her brows in confusion. "Isn't that _**good **_news?" She questions, not understanding why the dean looks like someone just died.

"Look around, Remy. The house is a mess…_**I'm **_a mess," Lisa shakes her head in dismay as she lifts her head up from her hands. "I may have met the DYFS standards, but I _**certainly **_didn't meet my own," she confesses with a scoff.

Thirteen sighs as she crosses the living room to drop next to Cuddy on the couch. "Parenthood is _**messy**_, Lisa. You can't expect yourself to be perfect _**all **_the time because that would be _**completely **_unrealistic," she offers, playfully nudging the dean's shoulder with her own in an effort to get the older woman to lighten up some.

Lisa cracks a reluctant smile at the gesture. "I feel so incompetent for not being able to get my act together long enough to make a good impression on the inspector. It's been less than a month and I'm already proving to be a bad mother," she responds to the other doctor's attempts to reassure her.

"When you are in the clinic or ER and you see all of these parents coming in with kids that are sick or have toys stuck in really embarrassing places, do you think that _**they **_are bad parents too?" Remy questions with an arched eyebrow.

"I…" Cuddy trails off, stuck for an answer. It would be easy to lie and say 'yes', just to prove a point, but she knows the other brunette is right.

Sensing her discomfort, the younger doctor decides to let her off the hook. "Everyone is allowed to have an 'off day'. Parents are especially lucky because they are allotted a greater number of 'off days' each year than non-parents," she smiles warmly.

"Oh, and how many 'off days' are parents actually allowed to have a year?" Cuddy jokes back, thankful for Thirteen's calming presence.

"365, unless it's a Leap Year…then they get more," Remy replies, grinning fully now, which elicits a laugh from the dean.

Moments later, when both women have calmed down and grown thoughtful once more, Cuddy turns to Hadley. "You seem to be in an unusually good mood this morning," the shorter doctor notes casually, wondering why the other woman isn't in the usual brooding mood she has been in lately.

Briefly, Remy considers telling Lisa about her and Allison getting back together, but she dismisses it just as quickly. Now doesn't seem like the time or the place to bring it up. She simply smiles instead.

"Kids must bring it out in me," Thirteen shrugs innocently. "Being around you and Rachel just brings me back to when Alexis was her age and I was in your position. But, this is better," she slyly tacks on.

"How so?" Cuddy raises an eyebrow in interest.

"Because, this time around, I won't be the one that has to change the diapers or have all of my favorite shirts spit-up on," is the simple, honest answer.

Lisa slaps her playfully in the arm, laughing the whole time. "Way to ruin the job you did repairing my fractured ego," she rolls her eyes.

Smirking, Remy smacks the older doctor lightly on the knee before she stands up and stretches. "Come on, let's get this place cleaned up so we can rebuild that ego of yours," she orders her superior.

"'We'? Aren't you due to be at work in twenty minutes?" The dean wonders.

"They won't miss me much before 11:00. House is supervising the surgical team in charge of doing the total spinal block on Jeff, which should be getting underway around 9-ish," Remy shrugs it off as she begins to decide where to start the cleanup.

"You know, just because I'm House's boss, it doesn't mean that you should feel obligated to stay and help," the shorter woman assures the other brunette.

"I know…and I don't feel obligated at all. I offered to help because I _**want **_to. Not everything has to have an ulterior motive behind it," Remy argues gently before going off in search of trash bags, not even bothering to wait for a response.

Lisa, for her part, shakes her head and smiles unconsciously. _Never, in a million years, will I ever be able to figure that woman out. Just when I think I have a grasp on who she is, she does something like this. How Cameron ever managed to figure out Thirteen is beyond me. Hopefully they'll be able to patch things up between them because they really are good for each other._

Shaking herself out of her musings, Cuddy goes to help the other woman get started cleaning the house.

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**9:30 am**

Allison checks her watch again before frowning. She has been waiting for her _**girlfriend**_ to show up at work for the last hour and a half, but the brunette is a total no-show so far. Checking her cell for any missed messages and finding none, she releases a sigh.

The blonde forgoes another attempt at calling Remy since her last four have already gone unanswered. Cameron determines that, somehow, the other woman managed to get upstairs unnoticed. She figures that, at the very least, she can go upstairs to greet her girlfriend when she gets finished with her appointment with Foreman.

Before slinking out of her office, her cell phone comes to life as it begins to vibrate across her desk. Glancing at the caller ID, she grins and picks up.

"Hey, Stranger," the blonde greets, feeling like she is about to spontaneously combust with excitement.

"_Hey, back,"_ Remy chuckles into the line. _"I'm sorry I missed your messages. I left my phone in the car,"_ she explains regretfully as she makes her way from her car back to Cuddy's house.

"Good, I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," Allison jokes as she settles back into her chair. "So, where are you? I didn't see you come in," she notes casually.

"_I'm at Cuddy's house…she was having a bit of a crisis with Rachel and the DYFS inspection this morning so wanted to see if I could help,"_ is the honest answer.

"Since when did you two become so buddy-buddy?" Cameron wonders.

"_I'm the closest person to her that has any experience raising a kid," _Hadley replies easily.

"Makes sense," the blonde acknowledges. "But don't you have an appointment with Foreman in, like, ten minutes?" She then asks, remembering what she was going to do before her phone rang.

"_Yeah, I'm obviously not going to be able to make it. I was actually planning on giving him a call when we hung up," _Thirteen states before the piercing cries of the infant echo from the nursery.

"It sounds like you have your hands full. I'll let Foreman know about the appointment for you if you like," the ER doctor offers kindly, meaning to have a talk with the other man anyways.

"_That'd be great,"_ Remy sighs in relief.

"Okay. Are you coming in at all today?" Allison questions, hoping to get to see the brunette soon.

"_Probably within the next hour or so," _the younger doctor responds as she calmly prepares a bottle of formula for Rachel while Lisa is panicking over the crying baby in the background.

"Good," Cameron giggles in an uncharacteristically girlish manner, earning a warm laugh from her girlfriend. "I'll see you soon then…I love you," she adds after a moment's hesitation.

Thirteen grins at the declaration. _"I love you too, Al,"_ she replies sincerely, before the infant's wailing bring them back down to earth. _"I'll be there soon," _she says quickly before hanging up and going to the frazzled dean's aid.

With the knowledge that her boss is away from the hospital and her former coworker has twenty minutes of free time in his future, Allison heads out of her office, being careful to avoid being sidetracked into signing a ton of papers. She squeezes into a packed elevator and waits patiently until she arrives at the third floor.

The blonde arrives at the relatively empty waiting room and wonders which of the several doors leads to Foreman's office. Her question is answered when door to her left swings open and a thin, homely-looking middle aged woman with a shaved head steps out of the office, followed by Foreman.

"Where's Dr. Hadley?" A startled Foreman asks the ER doctor, not sure how best to refer to Thirteen in the presence of her ex-girlfriend.

"Is she okay?" The woman from Foreman's office wonders with concern.

It takes Allison half of a second to realize that this is the Janice that her girlfriend has been talking about. She offers her a comforting smile. "Yeah, she's fine. She just got a little held up this morning," she answers both questions, not willing to say any more than that out of respect for Cuddy's privacy.

"Good," Janice seems satisfied with the explanation. "Bye Dr. Foreman. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," she offers the blonde doctor with another smile before leaving.

"Is she _**really **_okay?" Foreman wonders as soon as Janice is out of earshot.

At his tone, Cameron turns and looks at him for a long moment. "Can I talk to you?" She asks him, although it doesn't come out sounding like a question at all.

With a slight nod, the older man ushers her into the office, shutting the door behind him. "What did you want to talk-"

"What are you doing with Thirteen, Eric?" Allison jumps right in, going back to using the brunette doctor's nickname as soon as she went into her defensive mode.

"My job," the other man says, confused by the question.

"I'm not talking about the trial," the shorter woman challenges as she takes a seat in front of the desk. Since her observation makes Foreman visibly nervous, Allison can't help but agree that her girlfriend's favorite technique of being blunt and straightforward is very effective.

"It's not like you own Remy. _**You **_broke up with _**her**_, remember?" He snaps, unable to hold back his frustration anymore.

Cameron arches her eyebrows at him, debating on whether or not to tell her former teammate that she and Remy are back together. "So, what are you trying to say?" She further interrogates him, not willing to give anything away just yet.

"That I think she should know that she has another option besides you. It's not fair for her to spend her time waiting for you to come around and take her back," he explains himself rationally.

The younger doctor successfully hides her amusement. "So, you're saying that you have feelings for Remy and that you want her to get over me and move on to you?" She tries to clarify what he seems to be trying to get across.

"That's _**exactly **_what I'm saying," Foreman confirms. "The last thing she needs is someone that is going to break her heart and jerk her around at the first sign of trouble in their relationship," he tacks on, knowing that the whole ordeal with Spencer last year is still a sore topic in regards to Thirteen and Cameron.

"You don't get to judge me because you know _**nothing **_about how our relationship works. There was a lot more to it than her showing up drunk with a strange woman at three in the morning," she feels her control of the conversation slipping as the familiar burn of potential tears begin to tickle the inside of her nose and corners of her eyes.

"Right, she'd been hiding her bad habits from you for months. Then, you find out that she's been hiding her tremors for just as long…which means that the Huntington's is starting to break her down. Do you _**really **_think that you can handle another doomed relationship and watch another lover slowly die in front-"

The slap is unexpected on both of their parts. Allison freezes with her hand still suspended in the air after striking the larger man. She only moves again to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"You don't know me, Eric…Don't pretend that you do," Cameron quietly, but firmly, tells him. "I'm not going to act like a child and compete with you because you can't compete with someone who isn't even playing in the game," she finishes softly before leaving the office, hoping that the other man will get the hint and drop the matter all together.

As Allison heads back towards the elevator, she knows that she did the right thing in not revealing the fact that she and Remy are a couple again. Had she told him then, after their encounter, Foreman would have told House just so that the other woman's boss can go back to screwing with them.

Never in a million years would she have ever thought that the other man could be so petty and spiteful. Then again, never in a million years would she ever think that she and Foreman would be fighting over the same girl.

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**10:20 am**

"No Lisa, she's fine," Remy rolls her eyes good-naturedly as she enters the hospital, talking to the concerned Dean of Medicine on her cell phone. "She's a baby, she's supposed to sleep a lot…So, now you're complaining that she hasn't cried in the last twenty minutes?" She questions incredulously.

The young brunette's pager goes off, gaining her immediate attention. "Look, I'm sorry but I need to go. There's an emergency with Jeff's son…Yeah, you too," she smiles slightly before hanging up and heading straight to the corridor by the patient's room to find Zach writhing on the floor.

"So nice of you to finally join us this morning, Thirty-One," House greets the brunette sarcastically.

Hadley scowls at her boss for taking the time to snap at her when the patient's son is thrashing about on the floor in agony. "Now is _**really **_not the time," she bites back as she goes to check on the boy.

"Please don't let this be the same thing his father has," Jeff's wife sobs out.

Narrowing his eyes, House gives the kid a frown. "He's faking," he determines.

"Are you out of your mind?!" The wife wails, furious.

House, characteristically, ignores her and stalks down the hall to Jeff's room. He finds the empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. Upon his return, he tosses the empty bottle to Thirteen and turns his attention to Taub and Kutner.

"Get him started on dialysis," House growls before leaning down and hauling Zach to his feet.

"Ow, you're hurting me," he whines, his mother standing next to him, stunned.

"Good. The pain will help you do a better acting job next time you try to fake it so your dad can go kill himself," the older man snarks.

Zach pulls his arm free of House's grip. "You can't help my dad, just let him die already," he pleads tearfully.

With an irritated roll of his eyes, the older doctor turns to his last remaining fellow. "Thirteen, could you please explain to Zach why suicide is not the answer?" He orders her, complete with his trademark insensitivity in regards to having inside knowledge of her past.

Remy's expression darkens at him putting her on the spot like that. "I'm going to page Foreman to the office," she says instead before turning and walking off.

Jeff's wife doesn't even need to know what's going on with the two doctors, but she knows one thing is for sure. "You're an asshole," she tells House before taking her son's hand and walking to Jeff's room.

"Women," House sighs dramatically, twirling his cane before heading to the elevator.

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**11:05 am**

House watches Taub and Kutner shoot Jeff with naloxone to send him into immediate narcotic withdrawal. He pays no mind to Foreman striding up to him.

"You're torturing a patient based on a hunch!" Foreman accuses his boss, taking a moment to look at the man struggling against his restraints in the other room.

"It's no worse than manipulating a clinical trial to get someone to sleep with you," House shoots back, not even bothering to look at the other man.

"Janice's improvement is a _**real **_result. It's not like I'm giving Thirteen false hope just to be selfish," the younger man tries to defend himself, even though he knows that he shouldn't have to justify his actions to the other doctor.

"If the results we that promising, then you shouldn't have to screw with the schedule at all," House shrugs before finally fixes his gaze on him. "Besides, it's not like she's going to cheat on ER Barbie…even with you," he adds, annoyed at the other man for even trying.

"Am I the only person in this hospital that remembers that they broke up two months ago?" Foreman asks himself in frustration.

"Whatever you say, Homey…Although I would just _**love **_to see you with her kid, Papa Foreman," House smirks.

"House…" the other doctor tries to sound indignant at the implication of his boss' comment.

"You don't have to justify yourself to me because I don't care _**what **_you do so long as it doesn't effect me," the older doctor cuts in to prevent his employee from talking to him anymore. It works and Foreman shakes his head to himself before walking away.

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**6:20 pm**

Allison is in her office getting ready to leave for the day when there is a tentative knock on her door. She sighs figuring that she must have skipped over some paperwork or something earlier. Her day was bad enough between her fight with Foreman this morning, the insanity in the ER, and not being able to see her girlfriend at all today. _What's another twenty minutes of paperwork at this point?_

"Come in," Cameron allows the person on the other side of the door, expecting it to be one of the nurses. However, when the door opens, it's Thirteen that steps in instead, instantly bringing a smile to the blonde's face. "Hey!" She greets, happy to see her girlfriend.

"I wasn't sure if you'd left yet," Remy explains her knocking on the door and waiting as opposed to how she used to knock and barge right in…before they broke up and got back together.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it. Shouldn't you be upstairs for your drug treatment?" She wonders curiously.

"I was checking up on Jeff to see how he was doing," Hadley explains.

"Yeah, I heard that it turned out to be epilepsy after all and he's already doing better," Allison nods, glad that her girlfriend had been able to stall the nurses from discharging Jeff before he could get home and kill himself.

"Yeah…" the younger woman trails off, thinking about this whole case. "I mean, it pisses me off that he was so willing to kill himself without having an answer. There are people that are doing everything they can to live and others that are just so willing to throw everything away and abandon everyone that loves them," she muses, mostly to herself.

"I'm sorry. If I had known how much this case would have affected you I never would have-"

"Don't apologize because I'm glad you gave it to us. If House didn't get the case, then Jeff might not even be alive now. I don't want you to feel like you have to sacrifice a patient's life so that you can spare my feelings. It would be selfish of me to be mad at you about this," she is quick to interrupt her girlfriend, not wanting the other woman to feel guilty.

"I wasn't even thinking. You've suffered a lot of loss-"

"So have you," Hadley smiles sadly.

"It's not the same. I married Daniel _**knowing **_that he had less than a year to live. You couldn't have known about your mom or your girlfriend," Allison chooses her words carefully, Thirteen still unaware that she read the file that House's PI put together about her.

"If Olivia hadn't died, then I never would have come to work at this hospital and I never would have met you," Thirteen offers sincerely.

"Wasn't she, like, 'the love of your life' or something?" Allison questions self-consciously.

"Who told you that?" The brunette scrunches her brows in confusion before shaking her head to clear it. "It doesn't matter because, even if I _**had **_ever thought that, then I would know that I was wrong because I'm pretty sure that it's someone else," she smirks mischievously.

Allison can't help but grin. "See, even _**you **_can be a sentimental sap every once in a while," she jokes good-naturedly, moving to stand closer to the other woman as she does so.

Remy wraps her arms around the blonde's waist as the shorter woman drapes her arms over her shoulders. Instead of the long, passionate kiss that Allison is expecting, the brunette merely places a feather-light kiss on her cheek, barely more than lips brushing across skin. Cameron looks up at her in confusion.

"I actually came looking for you for a reason," Remy says, just now realizing how horribly off-track this visit went.

"Oh?" The blonde arches a speculative eyebrow, pulling slightly away from the taller woman so she can see her whole face and read her expressions.

"Well, I wanted to ask you something and now I'm kind of having second thoughts because I feel kind of weird about asking. I mean, haven't even been back together for a whole day yet," the younger doctor rants, not having made eye contact since she began speaking.

Cameron suppresses her amusement as she brings her hands up to the sides of her girlfriend's face to get the brunette to look at her. "Just ask. I'll tell you if it sounds weird," she promises, smirking gently.

Thirteen takes a deep breath and decides to get it over with. "I want you and Lexi to move back in," she blurts out.

"But…" Allison trails off and Remy holds her breath, "…that's not a question," she finishes her thought, smiling teasingly.

The younger woman releases a relieved laugh. "_**Will **_you and Lexi move back in?" She tries again, this time with more confidence.

"I'll think about it," is the earnest answer.

"You'll think about it?" Hadley is incredulous at the response after the way her girlfriend teased her about it.

"Fine, if you're going to pressure me into deciding now…" Cameron rolls her eyes with a sigh. "Yes, we'll move back in," she grins.

"You're such a brat," the brunette informs her which results in the older woman playfully sticking her tongue out. "I rest my case."

"Yes and I am also a brat that is leaving," the other woman says as she grabs her purse from the top of her desk.

"Do you _**have **_to?" Thirteen asks, dangerously close to whining.

"If I stay, then you'll _**never **_get upstairs for the trial," she reasonably points out.

"I guess," Remy reluctantly acquiesces as they head to the office door. She opens it for her girlfriend and follows her out of the room.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Allison teasingly bumps their shoulders in response to the other woman's pouting expression. "We'll see each other tomorrow."

"I know," the brunette replies as they go to stand in front of the elevators where they must part ways, hitting the up button. "Goodnight, Ally," she says, leaning in for a discreet kiss on the lips before she enters the elevator.

"'Night, Rem," Cameron smiles thoughtfully as the doors close. _This was certainly enough to make up for the rest of the crap today_. She decides.

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**7:00 pm**

Foreman enters one of the rooms where several patients, including Thirteen, are receiving the drug treatment. He spots the brunette sitting completely at ease and engrossed in an article in some magazine or, more likely, a medical journal. Taking a deep breath, he walks over to his colleague.

"How are you feeling?" He asks by way of a greeting, trying to keep his earlier conversation with Cameron out of his mind.

Remy looks up at the other doctor and offers a half smile. "I'm feeling better," is the simple reply.

"That's good," Foreman nods awkwardly, suddenly feeling like, maybe, he really _**is **_just running at a proverbial brick wall in a futile attempt to form a relationship with the other woman.

Upon seeing the look on the older man's face, Remy can't help but feel a little bad at how she's been treating him for the last couple of months. All of his attempts to get together outside of work may just as well have been him offering his friendship and not date proposals. Maybe having a friend that isn't her father, daughter or girlfriend is what she needs right now anyways.

"If your offer to go out for coffee sometime still stands, would tomorrow be good for you?" Hadley finds herself asking him.

"You're asking me out?" The other man summarizes, shocked at the change of heart.

"I'm asking you out for coffee. It'll give us a chance to talk and, who knows, we may even make a new friend out of it," she shrugs with an easy smirk.

"Okay, coffee it is," Foreman smiles back before spotting something in the corner of his eye. He runs his fingers along the seal of the younger doctor's IV bag and feels moisture.

"What's wrong?" The brunette wonders.

"There's a leak in your IV line. I'm just going to go get someone to fix it for you," he explains and excuses himself before going up to the nurse's desk.

"Is there something you need, Dr. Foreman?" A middle-aged woman asks once she looks up from her paperwork.

"Patient 310412 has a leak in her IV line," the supervising doctor informs her, holding up his hand with the liquid on it.

"No problem, I'll take care of it," the nurse says as she stands up. "That stuff really smells bad, huh?" She tries to make conversation as she turns to get more tubing for the IV.

Foreman furrows his brows. "No. I didn't smell anything," he corrects the other woman.

"Oh…I guess that must mean that she's on the placebo," is the nonchalant reply before the nurse goes to fix the leak. She doesn't notice the doctor's face fall at the revelation.

Turning towards the glass wall, Foreman watches the nurse approach Thirteen, who is back to reading a medical journal. The brunette looks up at the nurse and smiles, engaging the nurse in small talk as she fixes the leak. Meanwhile, one thought keeps rolling around in his head: _Oh shit._

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**8:05 am**

With a pleasant smile on her face, Cameron stands at the Nurse's Station finishing up with a patient's chart. She can't help but be in a good mood as she mentally makes plans for her and Alexis to move back in this weekend. The two of them pretty much have most of their clothes and some other minor things at Robert's, so it won't be too bad.

Pausing for a moment, Allison makes another addition to her internal checklist: grocery shopping. _That woman refuses to go to the grocery store unless completely necessary. Without having to worry about Alex and me, I wouldn't be surprised if all she has in the kitchen is week old take-out. _She smirks at the brunette's insistence on reading the labels of just about everything they buy, despite her decidedly low personal standards when no one else is involved.

Handing the nurse at the desk the completed chart, the blonde prepares to go for a file on another patient and continue contemplating her girlfriend's funny eating habits. However, she doesn't get the chance to do either.

"Dr. Cameron," Cuddy says from behind the younger woman.

"Dr. Cuddy, hi," Allison greets her boss, startled at the visit. "Something wrong?" She can't help but ask.

"Did you do House's budget report so that he'd take Jeff on as a patient?" The dean bluntly answers with a question of her own.

"Yes. I was hoping that seeing and curing a patient that was worse off than himself would give him something to look forward to," Cameron replies honestly, wondering why this warranted a visit.

Lisa seems to mull the blonde's answer over for a moment. "How would you like my job?" She proposes without hesitation.

"Uh…" the other woman stands dumbfounded at the very idea.

"Not permanently of course," the older woman is quick to add in. "It would mostly consist of paperwork and babysitting House," she further clarifies.

Allison seems to have found her voice by now. "Why can't you-"

"I'm still working on forming that bond with Rachel and, well, it will be impossible if I have to be here taking care of House more than her," she rationalizes.

Cameron, unable to fault the logic, gives her answer in the form of a numb nod. The dean gives her a grateful, if not awkward, hug.

"Thank you, Dr. Cameron. Now, I have a conference call with the Budget Commission in half an hour. If you can stop by my office around ten, then I can help you get situated and explain everything in better detail," Cuddy reverts back to her 'professional'-mode after thanking the younger woman.

"Yeah," Allison offers weakly as she watches her boss go into her office. She doesn't know how long she stands at the Nurse's Station with a blank look on her face, but all it takes to snap her out of her daze is a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Welcome back," Remy grins as soon as she gets her first reaction out of the blonde, followed by a look of confusion. "Did your brain go on vacation, Cam?" She asks pointedly with an amused smirk.

"Cuddy offered me her job while she gets settled with Rachel," the shorter doctor says in a neutral tone, still too shocked to match an emotion with her words.

"Oh," Thirteen responds, not sure what else to say. "This ought to be interesting," she understates.

This causes Allison to focus on the brunette for the first time since she appeared this morning. She raises an eyebrow at her girlfriend, amused at the epic understatement. Hadley mirrors the expression…before they both finally break, dissolving into laughter at the bizarre situation.

"At least no one knows that we're back together yet," Cameron points out the positive aspect of this.

"Because _**then **_it would be awkward," Remy chuckles sarcastically.

"Go to work," the blonde orders, playfully shoving the other woman towards the elevators.

"Yes, Boss," the younger of the two mocks, disappearing before her girlfriend can do anything else. Allison simply shakes her head, glad that things really seem to be looking up for them both.

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Cameron and Alexis are moving back in! Thirteen's suggestion to Foreman about going for coffee is just a friends-thing. Also, Cameron does Cuddy's job while she is secretly back with Thirteen? There's a reason no one at the hospital knows they're back together yet. Don't worry, there won't be a Cam/Thirteen/Cuddy love triangle…that'd be lame at this point.

**Jenny**, I understand that the Foreman-bashing and making him kind of stalker-ish kind of detracts from the story for you. The truth is, he needs to be a little creepy in this story to make it believable when he switches out Thirteen's drugs. However, after the _Big Baby_ and _The Greater Good _chapters it will taper off…but it may get pretty intense before then.

**Anon**, the reason I keep switching between using Thirteen and Cameron's first and last names because I feel like it gets too repetitive if I keep calling them by just one name the whole time.

_Big Baby_ is going to be a little hard because of how Foreteen-centric the episode is. So, like every other episode, expect a massive rewrite. It'll be a bit of a challenge to justify Foreman's decision about the drugs since they're not in a relationship. Hopefully it will be somewhat believable.

Because of these issues with the episode, it may take longer to get the next chapter up. However, I am officially on Spring Break now and I may surprise myself. Also, I decided that I didn't make them get back together too soon after all. They were broken up for eight chapters…over half the story.

Chapter four ("Easter") of _**This Year Will Be Different**_ is up. It's not long, but kind of cute. Check it out if you like and, if the inspiration hits you, send me a review to tell me how you liked this chapter (and sorry about the ever-increasing length of the ending Author's Notes).

[Edit: Thanks to **BiggerThanUs** for giving me Cameron's husband's actual name.]


	15. Yes, Boss

**Spoilers!**: _Big Baby_

**A/N**: There is quite a bit of playfulness in this very long chapter, which was fun. There is also a lot of Camteen stuff, which is also fun because no one knows they're back together yet.

**A/N2**: Um, the end of this chapter gets a little…_**heated**_, but it's not too graphic. Unfortunately. Just a fair warning.

**A/N3**: Work had me swamped during my Spring Break. Evidently I am the only one equipped to handle a crisis there. Whatever, this chapter is a little overdue in coming out and hopefully it's worth it. Also, sadly, there is no new chapter of _**This Year Will Be Different**_ up yet, but I'm working on it.

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**Chapter Fifteen - Yes, Boss**

**A Week Later**

"What the hell are you wearing?" Thirteen can't help but ask as she steps back into the bedroom, towel-drying her hair after just getting out of the shower.

Allison frowns and pauses her current task of applying her makeup. She looks down at her attire before turning to her girlfriend in confusion. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Remy smirks as she goes into _**their **_closet in search of her favorite fitted olive green sweater. "Nothing, but I thought you were filling in for the Dean of Medicine, _**not **_a 19th Century schoolmarm," she replies, smiling as she pulls out the sweater she's looking for.

"You're being dramatic," the blonde rolls her eyes, watching the reflection of the other woman getting dressed in the mirror.

"Tell that to your charcoal tweed skirt," Remy snarks mischievously as smoothes down her top before tucking it into her black slacks and resuming her search through the closet.

The dean pro tempore shakes her head in amusement as she raids her girlfriend's stash of lip gloss. "It sounds as though you are looking for an excuse to be able to stare at my cleavage at work," she challenges. Smirking, she chooses the watermelon lip gloss that she loves so much on the other woman…even if flavored lip gloss is a little 'high school'.

This elicits a laugh from the brunette. "Hardly," Thirteen scoffs, earning an arched brow in response. "I don't want to have to share _**that **_cleavage with the rest of the hospital…especially House," she cringes at the thought of her boss checking out her girlfriend, especially since no one at work knows they are even back together yet.

"Sweet-talker," Cameron teases in response to the crudely-worded display of possessiveness. She's secretly touched by the sentiment, knowing that the other doctor usually has a lot of difficulty expressing her jealousy or insecurities in a non-joking manner.

Offering the older woman a brief roguish grin, Hadley turns back to the closet and begins to get frustrated. "Seriously, Ally, I forgot that you had so many damn clothes," she grumbles, mostly to herself.

"What are you looking for?" The blonde wonders, her curiosity getting the better of her as she walks over in preparation to join in the search if necessary.

"My suspenders," is the agitated reply.

"I don't even know why I even had to ask," Allison rolls her eyes at herself, having forgotten to point out their new location when she and Alexis moved back in this last weekend.

"Are you mocking me?" Remy narrows her eyes at the other woman's tone.

"Of course not, Baby," the shorter doctor smiles innocently as she pushes the clothes hanging up on the right side of the closet over to the side and brings out a hanger with all of her girlfriend's beloved suspenders hanging from them.

"Ah ha! You hid them from me," the brunette accuses as she takes the hanger and pulls off all the suspenders so she can try and choose the pair she wants.

"No, I just forgot how much of an aficionado you were," the slightly older doctor muses.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Hadley states with an incredulously arched eyebrow.

Allison refrains from replying as she notices that the other woman is engrossed in her search. Going back to the mirror, she generously applies the pilfered lip gloss.

"Which ones?" The younger of the two questions, drawing the blonde's attention back to her.

Taken back for a moment, Cameron doesn't know what to say since she was never consulted about the suspenders during their relationship until now. A thought suddenly crosses her mind as she sets down the tube of lip gloss and smiles mischievously before walking over, barely eyeing the two pairs of suspenders in question.

The ER doctor gently takes the other woman's face in her hands and leans in to place a soft kiss on her girlfriend's lips. Startled by the unexpected action, Remy unconsciously parts her lips before trying to deepen the kiss, only to have Allison pull away.

"I like these ones," the shorter woman quietly expresses as she tugs on the black suspenders hanging limply from Remy's left hand. She goes back to the mirror to fluff up her hair, sending an impish smile to the other woman through her reflection.

Snapping out of her daze, Hadley chucks the rejected pair of suspenders back on the bed as she begins to clip on the ones her girlfriend decided on. She smiles at the look the blonde is shooting at her. Turning her attention back to pulling on the suspenders, she unconsciously licks her lips before jerking her head back up to glare at the blonde.

"Is that _**my **_lip gloss?" Thirteen questions in response to the familiar taste on her lips, her eyes narrowed.

"Maybe," Cameron draws out, stifling a giggle.

"Thief," the younger woman playfully accuses.

"Well, if you want it back, you'll have to come get it," she taunts in reply, waving the tube mockingly.

Allison is surprised when the taller woman strides over and bypasses the tube in her hand in favor of engaging in an impromptu lip-lock. The blonde pays no mind to the fingers running through her hair after she spent thirty minutes getting it just the way she wanted it. After tracing her girlfriend's lips with the tip of her tongue, Remy pulls away, leaving them both breathless.

"The watermelon one is my favorite," the brunette states as she takes the tube away from her girlfriend.

"Mine too," Cameron breathes out in agreement as she watches the other woman run it across her lips.

"Are you guys ready yet?!" A voice snaps them out of the moment.

Remy drops the lip gloss back into Allison's hand. "I think you need to reapply," she smirks wickedly. "And maybe fix your hair too," she adds before grabbing her boots and walking out of their bedroom.

A pleased smile slowly forms over the blonde's face as she turns back to the mirror to assess the damage done by their all-too-brief make-out session. Until now, she didn't realize how much she missed getting ready for work with her girlfriend. She missed the domesticity of these moments and is happy at how easily they have been able to slip back into their routine. Most of all, she missed getting to see the rare, playful side of her girlfriend.

With a final glance in the mirror, she exits the bedroom. It has been decided that, for the time being, they are simply going to take separate cars…at least until Cuddy gets settled enough to come back. She is going to go straight to the hospital while Remy drops Alexis off at school first. A shared smile and a peck on the lips later, both women are on their way.

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**10:20 am**

A file drops unceremoniously on the meeting room table in the Diagnostics Office causing the team to look over at their obviously agitated boss.

"What's wrong?" Thirteen is unable to keep herself from asking, delighting in the fact that she has a pretty good idea as to what has House looking so perturbed.

"ER Barbie is now Fake-Dean Barbie," House announces.

Remy suppresses her smile and chooses to try and look surprised. "I know," Foreman reveals calmly.

"How is it that you know, but _**she **_doesn't?" House wonders, indicating the brunette sitting at the table. Foreman shrugs and casts a sidelong glance at the female fellow.

"You're going to rip Cameron to pieces, aren't you?" Kutner asks, fearful for the blonde ER doctor.

"No, Cameron will probably rip House apart to assert her newly acquired authority," Foreman snaps bitterly at the younger man. Remy furrows her brow at his vicious tone.

"It's probably just a bleeding ulcer," Taub suggests in reference to the patient, wanting to get down to business.

"von Willebrand's disease?" Kutner guesses.

"I think the problem is probably with the patient's blood. Leukemia," Foreman determines.

"A thoracic tumor is a better fit," Thirteen argues.

"So, Lesbian, what are your thoughts on your ex being the new head honcho? Any kinky bondage fantasies involving her 'punishing' you for-"

"Could you just let it go for once?" Foreman snaps at the older man, earning an odd look from Remy, wondering why he is being so confrontational this morning.

House ponders the other man's attitude and Thirteen's history with his temporary boss, the wheels in his head turning. "Run a bleeding time test to see if the problem is in her blood," he directs them.

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**11:45 am**

"Sarah's platelets are abnormal," Hadley informs House as she and Foreman reenter the Diagnostics Office.

"Since Cameron broke up with you, aren't you a concerned for your job? I'm pretty sure she can fire you," House replies, directing his attention solely at his female underling. He senses that something is going on, but he just wants to screw with her for now.

"She can't and she won't," Thirteen rolls her eyes and folding her arms defensively across her chest.

"I see. So does-"

"Lymphoma," Taub sighs, getting tired of having to interrupt House's attacks on the other doctors.

"ITP makes more sense," Kutner points out, happy to be able to contribute.

Scowling, House nods at the younger man. "Standard treatment for ITP is methotrexate," he says, but he continues before any of them can leave. "We should also do a total body irradiation as well," he adds.

"You can't be serious!" Remy snaps, wondering why he would jump to such a conclusion.

"The side effects are too extreme for us to even consider without confirmation about this being the problem," Foreman agrees with the other woman.

"At the very least, it's premature," Kutner breaks in with his two cents.

"While there is someone assigned to stop me from performing dangerous and unnecessary treatments, no one can stop me from being premature," House chuckles. "You guys give the patient the methotrexate. Thirteen, come with me," he orders the other woman as he begins to make his way to the elevator.

Hadley reluctantly follows her boss, having a vague idea as to what he is planning. She hopes she is wrong.

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Cameron sits at Cuddy's desk sifting through the stacks of paperwork and she can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. She makes a mental note to never take her boss for granted again when she comes back. Rubbing her temples, she is just hoping to get through her first day unscathed.

As if on cue, the door to the office comes swinging open to reveal House with a self-satisfied smirk. Then, to make matters worse for the blonde, Thirteen begrudgingly follows her boss into the office.

"I need to treat our patient for ITP with total body irradiation before she bleeds into her brain," House announces without any preamble whatsoever, noting Cameron's reactions and watching Hadley out of the corner of his eye.

Allison's gaze briefly shifts over towards her girlfriend at the other man's request. In response, Remy mouths a sheepish 'sorry'.

"Okay," the blonde grants him permission, knowing that Remy would never let him follow through with a potentially fatal procedure on a patient just to prove a point.

House tries to conceal his shock as he darts his eyes between the two women. "'Okay'? _**Some **_people would have thought that you'd be particularly brutal in order to mark your territory," he replies suspiciously.

"Who thought that?" Cameron blurts out the question before she can help herself.

"Some girlfriend-stealing neurologist. You don't know him," House brushes the question off, trying to see if the implication elicits some form of jealousy from the blonde.

Darting her eyes over to Remy, Allison is relieved at the subtle shake of the brunette's head at the other man's comment. The unnecessary mention of Foreman causes a frown to mar her features.

"Look House, unlike _**whoever**_ said that I was going to go on a power-trip with you, _**I **_am not doing this to play games. So, if you come to me with a reasonable request that makes medical sense, then I'll approve it," she explains honestly, trying not to return the warm smile that her girlfriend is directing towards her.

House scowls at the understated flirting between the two women and he can't help but wonder if they are conscious of what they are doing or if they really _**are **_back together. "In that case, I need oral sex…which _**I **_think is a very reasonable request," he says to see what kind of reaction he can get from them.

Remy snaps her neck to the side to glare threateningly at her boss, her jaw set in preparation to bite the other man's head off if he makes one more comment like that to her girlfriend.

"No," Allison answers him calmly before the younger woman can respond to the older man's juvenile remarks. However, she is ridiculously pleased at the other woman's willingness to defend her from House.

With a mild glare at the fact that his fun has officially been crushed, House turns and hobbles out of the office. Remy finds herself smiling in amusement at her girlfriend's dismissal of her boss. When Allison covertly winks at the younger woman, the brunette's smile turns into a grin.

"Thirteen! Heel!" House barks patronizingly from just outside of the dean's outer office.

"I'm sure I'll see you later," Hadley rolls her eyes, smirking at the predictability of her boss in this situation.

"You better go before he tries to find a leash," Cameron jokes in reference to the other man's choice of words.

"Well, then I guess I'd have to tell him that _**that**_ is a privilege only reserved for you," are the taller doctor's parting words before exiting the office. The stunned speechlessness of the blonde is all the confirmation that she needs to declare herself the winner of this round of banter.

Dropping back into Cuddy's chair, Allison shakes her head in an effort to erase the mental images flooding her mind after the suggestive comment. She allows a bemused smile to form as her cheeks flush. _She knew damn well what saying that was going to do to me_. She muses, fighting off a chuckle.

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Upon seeing House and Thirteen step out of the elevator, Kutner is the first to reach them. "The methotrexate isn't working," he announces immediately.

"Well, I need a reason _**not **_to do a total body irradiation," House snaps back at the younger man. He sees the confused expression on the other three fellows' faces. "She gave me the go-ahead to do it…which we _**can't **_because it's dangerous and unnecessary," he explains irritably, using the same reasons his employees used on him earlier.

"Why don't we just _**not **_do it?" Foreman suggests obviously.

"Then she'll know that I never intended to do it in the first place and was only trying to test her. Duh!" The department head rolls his eyes.

"Guess she called your bluff, huh?" Remy asks rhetorically, and unnecessarily, just to get under his skin, a faint smirk crossing over her lips.

"I don't need you defending your girlfriend right now. I'm your boss," House glares. Thirteen rolls her eyes at the subtle use of the word 'girlfriend' as Foreman tries to determine if it's true or not.

"And, technically, Cameron is _**your **_boss and that makes her Thirteen's boss too," Kutner supplies, much to the amusement of everyone but the man in question.

Scowling, the older doctor turns his attention back to the matter at hand. "I figured she would say no and get her little power trip out of her system. Then, when I go to her with something that I want to do, she'd say yes," he justifies his actions.

"You're screwed," Taub unhelpfully acknowledges.

Having already come up with a plan on the elevator ride up, Hadley is hesitant to even mention it. "Well…" she trails off, biting her lip for a moment to make sure this is the best thing to do. "We could always go through the all of the motions of the irradiation except for flipping the switch. We wouldn't actually be irradiating her but, on paper, it would look like we did," she suggests.

House offers her a wicked grin as he drapes an arm over her shoulder. "Well, Benedict Arnold, welcome to the Dark Side," he says, the prospect of pitting the two women against each other practically making him salivate.

Thirteen scrunches up her nose in distaste as she pushes his arm off of her shoulder. "I'm doing this so that we can get back to diagnosing the patient. I am not trying to get in the middle of whatever game you're playing with Al…Cameron," she backtracks, silently cursing herself for the slip.

"Oh, we're back to first names now?" House taunts mischievously.

"We're talking," she covers, not lying per say.

"Look, is there anything we can actually be doing for Sarah while we're pretending to kill her?" Taub questions. He knows that with the strange tension between Foreman, Thirteen, and Cameron, this conversation won't end well.

"Double the methotrexate and get her started on prednisone," House instructs. The team scatters before he has a chance to start back in on Thirteen.

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**1:30 pm**

After running several tests following Sarah's heart failure during the fake irradiation, the team finds themselves meeting back up to discuss their findings.

"There doesn't seem to be any structural damage to the heart," Taub notices, perplexed.

"A high vagal tone from urinating may have caused an arrhythmia and her collapse," Hadley suggests when nothing else is forthcoming.

"Why would someone stop to pee in the middle of what she thinks is a nuclear procedure?" House muses.

"Maybe she just really had to go," Kutner shrugs obviously.

Despite his glare, House doesn't deem the explanation worthy of a reply. He turns his attention back to Thirteen. "People don't die from peeing!" He snaps at her.

"It was just a suggestion, House," Foreman jumps in, not liking the tone his boss used on the other woman. Thirteen arches an amused eyebrow while House just smirks at him.

"It may be due to heavy metal poisoning or toxic exposure," Taub decides to contribute to the differential.

"Maybe something drug-related," Kutner joins in.

"No, no, and no," House replies to each suggestion individually.

"Wait. The classroom's heater was broken the day she was admitted here so that means that both of her attacks happened when she was in a cold room. It could be a cold agglutinin disease," Remy then cuts in to point out.

"It fits," Foreman points out at their boss' thoughtful look.

"You don't have to agree with everything she says," House snarks. "So, let's stick her in an ice bath and see if she has a heart attack," he says, his own way of admitting that an idea has some merit.

"Isn't that a little dangerous…and potentially fatal?" Kutner unnecessarily wonders.

"Yes, which is why he wants to do it…So he can go bother Cameron again," Foreman sighs, not liking this one bit.

"I am merely following protocol," House insists innocently before turning towards the door. With a frown, Hadley prepares to follow him. "Where do you think _**you're **_going?" He asks.

"You don't want me to go with you?" Remy questions in confusion, figuring that he would want to drag her along just to throw her girlfriend off as much as possible.

"Hell no! The last time you were there, I got the opposite reaction I was hoping to get…and the two of you didn't even make out," House explains himself, beginning to whine near the end.

"Fine by me," the younger woman shrugs nonchalantly, hoping that he doesn't harass Cameron too much. Secretly, she knows better and is mildly concerned.

House nods, but says nothing as he turns to go to the Cuddy stand-in's office. He is somewhat perplexed by the lack of concern his female fellow showed when she was prevented from tagging along. This throws a little bit of a wrench in his theory that they are back together.

"So, you and Cameron are back together, huh?" Foreman asks in what he hopes is a casual manner.

"Just because House is implying something, doesn't make it true," Remy cleverly deflects, stating a fact while neither confirming or denying anything.

"That's true," the other man acknowledges, a small smile playing on his lips. The other two men watching and wondering why Foreman is so interested in the first place.

Before Remy can continue, her phone begins to vibrate. Pulling it out of her lab coat, she smirks upon reading the caller ID. "Wow, Cuddy. You managed to wait half a day before calling," the brunette chuckles into the phone.

"_I'm downstairs and I can't deal with House's latest uprising __**and **__Rachel's crying at the same time. Help," _the dean panics.

Thirteen bites back another laugh. "I'm on my way," she promises before hanging up, knowing that this has something to do with the irradiation. "I have to go," she excuses herself before walking out of the room.

"Why is Cuddy calling Thirteen? And where is she 'on her way' to?" Taub asks what the other two men are thinking.

"You think Thirteen's moved on to Cuddy?" Kutner speculates with a grin. Foreman simply sighs.

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Having left Rachel with the nurses, promising them that Dr. Hadley was on the way, Cuddy has moved on to dealing with Cameron. Even with the door closed, the faint sounds of Rachel's cries can be heard from the Nurse's Station.

"What were you thinking?!" The older woman barks.

"I said yes to the irradiation because he wanted me to say no. He was trying to test me and I wasn't going to let him," Cameron defends her decision.

"Don't try and get cute. Do not engage House or play games with him," she warns sternly.

"I am just trying to do the job you hired me to do!" The blonde snaps back.

Both women's attention is drawn to the door as House swings it open and steps in. Before the door shuts all the way, they manage to catch a glimpse of Thirteen stepping off the elevator and heading towards where Rachel is. Cameron and Cuddy smile, each for her own different reason.

"Must be serious if you left your brand new baby with the nurses," House whistles, feigning being impressed. "Did you come back because you couldn't stand being around the kid because you're starting to realize that she is a mistake? Are you going to let her be raised by a pack of wild nurses?" He continues with a smirk.

Allison's eyes widen as she sees the stricken look on the other woman's face. "He's right?" She questions incredulously.

"I spoke to Wilson," is House's conspiratorial response directed towards his _**real **_boss. He frowns slightly when the crying from the Nurse's Station ceases.

"I'm just having a bad day," Cuddy grinds out, feeling frustrated and betrayed by Wilson.

"Wilson was worried. But he shouldn't be, no one should be," House replies before fixing noting the confused expressions on the other two women's faces. "Nothing's official. You could give the kid back tomorrow if you want. It would be better than having her grow up with a mother who doesn't care," he shrugs, a challenging glint in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll just go drop Rachel off at the pound," Cuddy snaps, clearly holding back her tears as she does so, before storming out of the office.

After the door closes, House turns his attention back to Cameron, smarmy grin firmly in place. "What do you want, House?" The blonde sighs warily.

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After stepping off of the elevator, Remy didn't need to guess where Rachel was at because she heard the screaming. When she approached the Nurse's Station, she happened to spot her boss barge right into Cuddy's office. She knew that she couldn't do anything to protect either of the two women in the office from House's, invariably, cutting remarks…no matter how much she wished that she could. Instead, settled for at least calming Rachel.

Hadley is now standing at the Nurse's Station with the baby cradled securely in her arms, rocking gently back and forth on her heels. Continuing to soothe her, she is softly murmuring random words and phrases, which seems to be working in keeping Rachel quieted.

When the door to Cuddy's office opens and slams shut, Thirteen glances up and notices the distraught look on the dean's face, causing the younger woman to frown.

"What happened?" Remy questions, knowing better than to ask if the other woman is okay because, obviously, she isn't.

Lisa takes in the sight of the slightly taller doctor cradling Rachel with a natural ease that she can't help but envy at this point. "House," she simply answers.

Hadley nods in understanding. "Whatever he said, you know he only said it because he wanted to upset you," she explains sagely.

"But what if he's right?" Cuddy sighs in defeat as she brushes her fingers along the back of her daughter's tiny hand. "What if this is just a big mistake and I'll never be able to love her like she deserves?" She whispers uncertainly, not really even expecting an answer.

"Why would you think that?" The younger brunette wonders, her tone curious and not at all judgmental.

Cuddy takes a deep breath. "Because I don't feel it…any of those 'maternal instincts' that you hear so much about. It's just overwhelming and I don't feel like I am as equipped to be a mother as I thought I was," she replies, refusing to make eye contact out of fear of sounding like a horrible person.

"You haven't bonded with her," Hadley astutely observes after a moment of allowing the realization to sink in. "It's normal, you know?" She tries to reassure her boss' boss.

"It doesn't feel normal," the older woman breathes out, her tone defeated.

At first, Thirteen doesn't say anything. She instead chooses to step closer and place the child in the shorter brunette's arms, despite her initial resistance.

"Bonding takes longer in adoption cases, Lisa. It didn't happen with Alex and me over night either," Hadley informs her in a comforting tone.

"It didn't?" The dean asks uncertainly, looking up to see a nod of confirmation. "So, are you telling me to stick it out to see if or when it will happen?" She ventures quietly.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do because it isn't up to me. Just…don't feel like you are obligated to raise her because you'd feel guilty if you didn't. If you give this motherhood thing more of a chance though, you may be surprised at how easily you can slip into it," Remy answers gently, placing a compassionate hand on the other woman's forearm as she does so. "I'll support you…no matter what you decide," she adds sincerely.

Watching the baby in her arms sleeping peacefully, Cuddy considers her options before carefully setting Rachel back in her carrier and picking it up. "Thanks, Remy," offers a half-hearted smile as she brushes her free hand over the younger woman's shoulder as a show of gratitude. Thirteen merely smiles slightly in response before the older doctor exits the hospital.

With a sigh, Remy combs her fingers through her hair before going towards the dean's office. As she approaches the outer office, the door swings open and House steps out. Hoping to avoid his questioning over why she is lurking around Cuddy's office, she tries to step out of his field of vision. This turns out to be a wasted act seeing as how he is too troubled to even notice her. Furrowing her brows in consternation, she goes behind him and knocks on the door.

"Come in," a tired voice grants from the other side of the door.

Entering the office, Thirteen quietly closes the door. "How'd it go?" She wonders cautiously upon seeing the blonde's distracted expression.

Allison glances up from the papers she was staring at blankly on the desk. "House is insufferable," she sighs with a weak smile, grateful for the younger woman's presence.

Remy chuckles as she steps further into the office, feeling a little more at ease since her girlfriend begins to appear less tense. "He wouldn't be House if he wasn't. So, are you going to let him run the ice-bath test for the patient?" She wonders, curious about the outcome of her boss' visit.

"I told him to run blood tests first," Cameron smirks, standing up from her seat behind the desk to go over to the taller doctor.

"It explains why he looked so troubled when I saw him come out of here," Hadley notes as she moves her hands to rest on the blonde's hips, pulling her closer.

Allison drapes her arms over her girlfriend's shoulders and draws her in for a sweet kiss before pulling away slightly. "Can we not talk about House anymore?" She questions, her lips brushing up against the other woman's with each word.

"'House' who?" Is Thirteen's playful answer before the shorter woman begins to push her towards the plush couch against the wall, removing the white lab coat on the way. A few heated kisses later finds both women tumbling onto the couch with Cameron on top, their lips never separating.

The slightly older doctor breaks the contact, much to the dismay of her girlfriend, to sit up so that she is straddling the brunette's hips. Ignoring the younger woman's attempts to bring her back down to her lips, Allison sets about unclipping the suspenders she picked out just this morning.

Impatiently squirming under the other woman, Remy begins to slide her hands up and down the blonde's bare thighs, pleased that she decided to go with the skirt after all. At the unexpected contact, Cameron lurches forward with her hands landing on either side of the brunette's head.

"I've always wanted to do it in Cuddy's office," Allison pants, her warm breath tickling the other woman's face.

"Here's our chance," Thirteen smiles mischievously as she pushes herself up into a seated position, the smaller woman still straddling her lap. Bringing their lips together once again, she sets to unbuttoning her girlfriend's top. "This schoolmarm's outfit of yours is more of a turn on than it probably should be," she can't help but joke in between breaths.

"Shut up, Dr. Hadley," Cameron authoritatively replies, fighting a smile as she does so.

"Yes, Boss," the other woman grins, unable to help herself.

The blonde tugs on her girlfriend's bottom lip in lieu of verbally responding. She starts pulling at the olive sweater before realizing that the black suspenders are still in her way. Without a moment's hesitation, she pushes them off of the brunette's shoulders and unclips them from the back of her slacks. Once removed, Cameron carelessly chucks them out of the way, paying no mind as to where they land.

"Why are you always throwing my suspenders around?" Remy asks breathlessly, pulling away slightly as she does so.

"Do you really want to talk to me about your suspenders right now?" Allison questions incredulously.

Glancing down at the hands working on removing her shirt, Thirteen's mind is instantly made up. "We'll discuss it later," she decides right before Cameron finishes removing the shirt and pushes her back down on the couch.

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It's good to know that people are responding well to Thirteen and Cuddy's friendship…as well as Thirteen's interactions with Rachel because I was worried about how it would come across.

Um, the last scene with Thirteen and Cameron was pretty unnecessary, but it was fun. How could I let the opportunity for them to have sex in Cuddy's office just pass by? That's right, I couldn't.

**Hal**, that review was impressive ;). So, there is more misery in store for our girls, obviously. Foreman has been a total jerk during the whole Foreteen relationship. I try to switch up the uses of Thirteen and Cameron's names/nicknames a lot and try to use them in ways that are more meaningful. Given Thirteen's reluctance to give her name out during last season, it's obvious that, to her, a name is not just a name. The part with Thirteen and Cameron talking about death and suicide at the end is another scene that became much longer than intended, but it was a nice moment between them.

Also, I have been writing this _House_ series (this story and _**Taking a Chance**_) way too long. The first time I saw _Big Baby_ I was yelling at the screen, "Thirteen has a kid, why doesn't she help Cuddy?!" Then, I realized that Thirteen doesn't _**actually **_have a kid…I felt like a dumbass.

The funniest thing about both of these stories, and how much I like writing them, is the fact that I don't even _**like **_kids. Yet, I have a story and its sequel stemming from the premise that Thirteen has a kid and, now, it a parenting coach to Cuddy. Odd.

Wow, no one figure out the patient number. I must be particularly clever then (feel free to laugh at that statement, I did). 310412 represents Olivia Wilde's and Jennifer Morrison's birthdays! 310 is March 10th and 412 is April 12th.

I'll try and get back on track with my updates. Hopefully I'll get some time to focus on **_This Year Will Be Different_** and get the next chapter up soon. Anyway, if you feel like it, leave a review and let me know what you thought about this chapter...even if you hated it.


	16. And Hope for the Best

**Spoilers!**: The end of _Big Baby_.

**A/N**: Sorry kids, this doesn't pick up right where the last chapter left off. I didn't want to have to up the rating.

**A/N2**: I know it took me forever and a day to update, but at least you get the longest chapter, by far, out of the wait. I certainly hope it was worth it for you. There is a hell of a lot that happens in this chapter, so it isn't _**all **_just random stuff I added to make it seem longer.

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**Chapter Sixteen - And Hope for the Best**

**3:00 pm**

"Well, well Thirteen. So nice of you to finally join us," House greets as the brunette steps into the Diagnostics Office, looking as impeccable as ever.

"I figured that I would put in an appearance," Remy replies, her lips turning up slightly into a vague smirk.

"So, how was your illicit rendezvous with Cuddy?" The other man questions, trying to break through the other woman's calm exterior and find out where she had disappeared for the last hour.

"What makes you think I was with Cuddy?" She merely arches her brow in response, not giving anything away.

All eyes turn towards Foreman. "Hey, I _**only **_mentioned that she called and then you left," he defends himself.

"Okay," is the youngest doctor's simple reply before she looks to the others and waits for an update.

Taub awkwardly clears his throat to gain her attention. "Her blood tested positive for the cold agglutinins but she was fine in the ice bath," he informs her, reading from the file.

House frowns, giving up his quest for information momentarily in favor of participating in the differential. "It's brain damage," he states.

"Not this again," Foreman groans.

"Being cheerful isn't a symptom of brain damage," Kutner points out.

"The fact that she went into the wrong classroom after transposing room numbers is proof that she has a lesion in the left hemisphere of her brain," House argues.

"I dialed a wrong number this morning, does that mean I have brain damage too?" Kutner challenges.

"In your case? Probably," Remy snarks from beside the other man, much to the amusement of the others.

"She also didn't go to the bathroom before her fake irradiation treatment which shows an inability to predict the future," House continues on his defense of his theory.

"He's right. That can be a sign of a left hippocampal lesion," Hadley agrees with her boss.

Taub and Foreman cast Thirteen matching incredulous sidelong glances. "This is just you refusing to believe that someone can be a good person without there being something wrong with their brain," Foreman tells House.

"The platelets and her heart attack suggest a pancreatic tumor," Kutner butts in.

"It's MS," the older man asserts. "We'll have to perform a brain biopsy to confirm," he adds.

With that, Kutner slides his chair back and stands. "No, we should do an ERCP to test for a pancreatic tumor. A brain biopsy is too risky," he snaps.

It is with Kutner's last sentence that Thirteen realizes what her boss is trying to do. Her suspicions are confirmed when she notices the mischievous smirk on the other man's face.

"Well then, I guess there's only one person that can settle this," House attempts to reply somberly, but he fails miserably before standing up and making his way to the door.

As the rest of the team reluctantly goes to follow him, Remy tries to suppress the grin threatening to appear on her face. She doesn't care whether or not House is onto something, she's just glad to be going back downstairs to see her girlfriend again…15 minutes after having just left her.

"So, where did you actually go?" Foreman quietly asks as he matches his pace with the brunette's.

Hadley glances at him for a moment as she decides what to tell him. Even though they are on their way to becoming friends, her renewed relationship with Allison is not something that she wants getting back to House just yet. "To see how Cuddy was doing," she answers vaguely, somewhat telling the truth considering that that was the reason why she left.

"With Rachel?" The other man wonders, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"Yeah…and House," she smirks back at him.

"I can imagine," Foreman smiles tightly. "Kutner seems to think that you've moved on to Cuddy now," he states, trying to sound amused as he gauges her reaction.

"What?" Remy laughs in disbelief. "She and I are just friends," she corrects with a smile on her face.

"Just friends, huh?" Foreman grins as he prepares himself to make his move.

"Yeah, just friends…like us," she adds as she steps into the elevator.

"Right, like us," he says, trying not to look too crestfallen, following her into the elevator.

"Are you okay?" Remy asks the older doctor, finally calling him on his odd behavior all day.

Foreman turns his head and settles his gaze on her. "I'm fine," he tries to assure her…in a tone that isn't particularly convincing.

"Eric…" she prompts him, hoping that he'll just be honest.

He seems to struggle for a moment with his personal feelings for the brunette in regards to her relationships and the fact that she is on the placebo in the drug trial. Foreman averts his eyes and releases a sigh. "I just-" The other man is cut off when the bell chimes to signify they are back on the first floor.

"It's about time! Come on!" House barks as they step out of the elevator.

Remy merely shoots Foreman a look that promises that they are going to continue their conversation later. The team reluctantly follows House into the dean's office, the youngest doctor trying to conceal her smile as she is the last to file in.

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Allison can't keep the smile off her face as she finishes getting her clothes back on. Even though Remy left about ten minutes ago, she still can't seem to wrap her mind around the fact that she just had sex with her girlfriend in Cuddy's office. She runs her fingers lightly through her hair to make sure that it isn't sticking up or tousled in an obvious 'I just had sex' manner, idly noting that her hands are still a little shaky from the encounter.

Quickly sweeping her eyes around the room, she checks to make sure that nothing is out of place. Satisfied, Cameron goes back to the desk to try and pick up where she left off on her paperwork before Cuddy came in…almost two hours ago. It takes but a moment for her to find the report she was looking at earlier. She valiantly tries to keep her attention on the report rather than constantly lift her gaze to look at the couch that Remy was pinned to less than thirty minutes ago.

The office door swings open violently as House struts in, effectively snapping the blonde's attention to him. "We need to do a brain biopsy to confirm MS," House announces as Allison watches the other members of the team enter, her gaze immediately drawn to the brunette in the back of the pack.

"A pancreatic tumor fits the symptoms too. I think we should run an ERCP," Kutner argues immediately. "The test is less dangerous so it would make sense to run it first," he continues to plea his case as he turns to the stand-in dean.

The ER doctor takes note of Kutner's confrontational and bitter attitude. "What game are you playing at, House?" She sighs, looking at her former boss.

"No game. If we waste our time with the ERCP instead of the biopsy, then, if it is MS, it'll effect her lungs next," House states reasonably, studying the younger woman carefully as he does so.

Cameron, unable to resist, darts her eyes over to the brunette woman leaning quietly against the door, a barely-there smile gracing her lips. Noticing the attention, Remy quirks an eyebrow suggestively and smirks. The blonde visibly struggles to keep herself from grinning like an idiot, aware that she is probably beginning to blush by now. Hadley coughs into her hand to cover a chuckle.

"It being the more severe of the two, at this point we should assume that the problem is in Sarah's brain," Allison says before seeing the smug grin start to form on House's face. "But, to prove it, you're going to need to run an MRI. If the plaques are there, you can do your biopsy," she finishes, wiping the look right off his face.

"You're wasting everyone's time by not giving us a yes or no answer. Wasting time like this is going to kill the patient!" House snaps, trying to push the younger doctor. Out of the corner of his eye, he notes that Thirteen appears agitated and that she seems to be holding back from interfering…a fact that he finds interesting.

"You're wasting time by standing around and arguing rather than running the MRI," Cameron points out, unfazed by the outburst since she is well aware of the fact that Remy is more than willing to intervene if he continues to try and provoke her.

House narrows his eyes into a glare. "Fine," he concedes, albeit begrudgingly. He stalks out the door, the others tentatively following.

Hadley, despite having been at the door, is the last remaining member of the team in the room. "Bye Ally," she sing-songs, a mischievous smirk gracing her features.

"Bye Rem," Cameron playfully mimics the brunette's tone with an amused smile before the other woman steps out of the office and closes the door behind her.

Thirteen exits the office and goes off to help with the MRI. She is so preoccupied with thoughts of her girlfriend that she fails to notice Foreman standing by the office door since he was waiting for her so that they could talk some more.

Having heard the women's final exchange, Foreman can't help but frown as he ponders whether or not he still has a chance with the brunette. Reluctantly, he uproots himself from his position by the door so that he can join the rest of the team.

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**4:10 pm**

Foreman stands silent in House's office as the team views the results of Sarah's MRI. His mind, however, is elsewhere as he steals surreptitious glances at Thirteen. He can't help but feel the stab of jealousy as he thinks about the brunette's earlier playfulness with Cameron. There is a chance that he can prove to Hadley that his feelings for her are sincere, but it's a _**slim **_chance.

House reluctantly consents to Kutner running the ERCP, the MRI having come up clean. Watching the rest of the team go, his eyes lingering on the back of the female Fellow a moment longer than necessary, Foreman releases a resigned sigh but otherwise stays put.

After a moment of silence in the office, House smirks at the other man. "I know I'm pretty, but I have better things to do than sit here and let you stare at me. What is it?" The gruff doctor questions irritably.

"It's about Remy, she's on the placebo," Foreman confesses after taking another moment to consider whether or not he was doing the right thing in talking to his boss.

While shocked that Foreman told him about Thirteen's trial, all the older man does is arch an eyebrow in amusement. "_**What **_did you just call her?" He can't prevent himself from commenting on the use of the brunette's first name, which he has never heard spoken by anyone other than Cameron, and deliberately ignoring the real issue brought up. He knows it will drive his senior employee crazy.

"Her name," Foreman grinds out, his posture rigid as he begins to regret coming to House for advice. "This was a mistake," he shakes his head at his foolishness before turning towards the door to leave.

"So, you want to switch her off the placebo and put her on the real drug to see if she notices a difference, right?" House cuts right to the point, this topic of conversation much too interesting to let the other man out of it this easily.

This insight gives Foreman pause, his hand hovering over the door handle for several moments before finally dropping to his side. "How did…" he trails off, unsure as to whether his boss was immediately able to deduce this or if he was just that obvious and easy to read.

"You aren't exactly subtle Bigfoot. Even Kutner can tell you like her. How Thirteen manages to stay oblivious is beyond me," House snorts.

At this, Foreman begins to grow increasingly agitated. If his boss and the most clueless doctor on the team know, then surely Cameron has realized that he isn't backing down at this point. Due to their last disastrous encounter over Remy, he still can't help but feel a little guilty about some of the things he'd said and a little intimidated by her after having been slapped.

Noticing the pensive look, House decides to continue his explanation of his 'intuition'. "And, you also talked to Chase and Wilson about it. You should have _**known **_that it would get back to me after you spoke to Wilson," he says in an almost chastising manner, Foreman having known his boss and the oncologist long enough by now to know that nothing stays a secret between the two for long.

"They told you about me asking them and you were able to resist bringing it up in front of Thirteen? I'm impressed," Foreman dryly tries to joke, attempting to mask his trepidation over hearing what his boss has to say about it.

"I'm guessing that they didn't give you the answer you wanted, which is why you came to me," the older man ventures, sure of himself. "Hmm, but I simply _**must **_know: why didn't you go to Cameron first?" He questions with barely veiled glee over the dramatic love triangle developing around him.

At the mention of the blonde, the dark-skinned man closes his eyes and feels stupid for not having considered that his boss would ask that. "She has a vested interest in Dr. Hadley," he says in, what he hopes is a neutral tone.

"And you don't?" House challenges with a scoff.

"I just knew this was going to be a bad idea," Foreman grumbles to himself as he goes back to the door.

"Will the drug cure her?" The older man calls him back.

The neurologist reluctantly turns back around, but remains standing by the door. "The drug looks promising in slowing down the onset of the symptoms," he slowly explains.

"So, you're willing to sacrifice your entire career for a drug that, at best, would only be giving her a few more years?" House asks in an attempt to, simultaneously, clarify what his employee is suggesting and point out how ridiculous it sounds.

Foreman takes a moment to consider the question and House picks up on his uncertainty. "You two aren't even a couple. What do you think it would change if you were to switch the drugs and she got better? If she were to find out about you switching the drugs, do you think she would fall into your arms because you'd be her 'hero'? Her knight in a dry-clean only three piece suit?" He continues to badger, his taunting becoming more harshly delivered as he goes on.

"I'd like to think that she'd be grateful and that it would show her how much I care about her," Foreman retorts angrily as his boss keeps trying to belittle him. "I'd like to think that she would see that Cameron isn't her only option," he snaps, immediately regretting it when he notices a look of realization cross over House's face. "It's probably not worth my job over though," he quickly tacks on, trying to cover his slip-up.

"It depends on if you were doing it because you're competing with Cameron and you think it would give you the edge to beat her…or if it's because you really _**do **_have feelings for Thirteen," House says, making sure to choose his words carefully.

With his hand gripping the door handle tightly, Foreman mulls over his options and dissects his motivations in regards to the dark-haired doctor.

"Just know that, if you're doing this because you genuinely care about her, then it won't matter if she ends up with you or not. Her happiness would be enough," House states with uncharacteristic sensitivity coming through in his tone. "Don't risk throwing everything away just to win," he throws in just before Foreman opens the door and exits the office without looking back.

With a sigh, House pensively leans back in his chair. A slow smile begins to creep up on his face now that he's sure that he'll win that bet with Chase about how this will all turn out. He's sure that Foreman is going to switch the drug. The cash waiting for him at the end of this bet is enough to erase any guilt over not mentioning that he's fairly certain that Thirteen and Cameron are back together now.

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**7:25 pm**

Back at the apartment, Remy is lounging in front of the television with her feet up on the table and crossed at the ankles with Alex's head resting in her lap. After the day she had, the last thing she wanted to do was cook. So, to appease her daughter and girlfriend, who has yet to come home, she ordered Chinese take-out.

Dropping her gaze down to her lap, Hadley's face breaks into a fond smile at the sight of her lightly dozing daughter as she continues to softly comb her fingers through the eight year old's hair. She feels like she missed out on so much while Alex was staying with Allison and her dad. Today, she went on a field trip to the zoo that, apparently, wore her out.

Shifting slightly, Remy rises up from her seat, careful not to wake her daughter, and maneuvers the little girl into her arms. She slowly enters Alex's room and tucks her into bed, the eight year old barely even stirring. With a thoughtful smile, Hadley brushes a stray lock of hair from Alexis' face only to be brought out of her reverie by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

After dropping a soft kiss on the little girl's forehead, she turns of the light and leaves the room. Upon reentering the living room, Remy smirks and bites back at laugh at the sight of her girlfriend face-down on the couch, screaming into a throw pillow.

"Long day at the office, Dear?" The brunette questions in her best impression of a June Cleaver-esque 1950s housewife.

Allison stops screaming and lifts her head, fighting back the urge to smile…and failing miserably. "You think I can get a good deal on a hit man to off House?" She questions in lieu of answering directly.

"I'll do it for free," Remy shrugs nonchalantly.

"Free, huh?" The blonde woman asks skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

Scrunching up her brows in thought, Hadley slowly approaches the couch and crouches down in front of her girlfriend to look her in the eye. "Well, maybe I can think of _**something**_," she decides with feigned hesitancy and the unmistakable hint of mischief in her tone and reflected through her eyes.

Allison can't contain her laughter and resulting smile in the face of the taller woman's playfulness and impish behavior. "Let me guess…" she trails off as she leans in to meet her girlfriend's lips in a brief, but not unsatisfying, kiss.

"You must be a mind-reader," Remy grins before leaning back in to the blonde, who's eyes flutter shut in anticipation. "What am I thinking now?" She whispers against her lips.

Cameron opens her eyes and arches an eyebrow at her girlfriend's blatant flirting. "Bedroom?" She ventures hopefully.

"Why, Dr. Cameron, you horny little devil. Was having sex in the dean's office not enough for you?" Remy questions in feigned astonishment.

Biting her bottom lip, the shorter woman blushes slightly. "No," she admits in a quiet and embarrassed murmur.

"Good. Me neither," the brunette chuckles at the other doctor's reaction as she stands up, pulling her girlfriend with her.

"You're such a tease," Allison rolls her eyes, smiling nonetheless as she allows herself to be led to the bedroom.

When the bedroom door shuts, the blonde finds herself immediately with her back against it and the taller doctor's lips on her own. Cameron's hands immediately go up to tangle in the dark hair of her lover. She hears the bedroom door lock behind her and smiles into the kiss, remembering the awkwardness of Alexis walking in on them in bed together the first night they moved back in.

Allison soon feels the gentle touch of familiar fingertips on the bare skin just under her top. Moaning softly into the other woman's mouth, she pushes away from the door and begins to steer them towards their bed, the brunette being forced to walk backwards. Just before the back of her knees hit the end of the bed, Remy swiftly switches their positions and forces the other doctor to fall onto her back on the bed.

Crawling onto the bed, Hadley is soon hovering over her girlfriend's body with a mischievous smirk. "This time _**I **_get to be on top," she grins in reference to the other woman being the one lording over her in the office earlier.

"You're the boss," Allison retorts ironically, her voice thick with desire as Remy's fingers deftly unbutton her shirt. She then finds herself unconsciously lifting her hips to accommodate the prompt removal of her charcoal skirt.

Hadley doesn't verbally reply to the blonde's previous comment, instead choosing to latch her lips on to the sensitive skin of her neck, eliciting a moan. When she feels the other woman's hands begin to tug on her own shirt, she bites down gently on the soft flesh before sitting up enough to comply with the silent request.

Shirt removed, Remy locks eyes with her girlfriend and smiles, almost shyly, before brushing a stray lock of blonde hair off her face. "I love you," she announces sincerely and undemanding, just wanting to make sure that it's known.

At the unprompted and uncharacteristically sentimental declaration, Cameron pulls the other woman's head down for a sweet kiss. "I know and I love you too," she returns the sentiment, her tone mirroring that of the brunette's.

They soon resume their previous activities, secure in the knowledge that their relationship is as strong as, if not stronger than, it has ever been. Everything between them leading up to this feels like it has been a test…and one that they have passed with flying colors. Both are certain that there's nothing that can come between them again.

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**7:18 am**

As she stands in front of the mirror straightening her hair, Allison watches her girlfriend enter the bedroom in the reflection in the mirror. Stepping into the room and towel-drying her hair after getting out of the shower, Remy takes note of the blonde's attire and arches a brow, opening her mouth to say something.

"Not a word," the older doctor playfully warns as she turns to point her flat-iron threateningly at the other woman.

With an amused smile, Thirteen tosses the towel she was using on her hair onto the bed before sauntering over to her girlfriend and resting her hands on the shorter woman's hips.

"I was just going to say that you look beautiful this morning," is the earnest response before she places a light kiss on the side of the blonde's throat. "And that you'll also want to put some concealer on that hickey on your neck," she smirks impishly before pulling away and going to the closet to throw on something to wear.

Her expression immediately going from loving and touched to panicked and irritated, Allison shifts her gaze to the bruising on her neck and wonders how she didn't notice it sooner.

"You can be so evil sometimes," Cameron grumbles darkly as she reaches for the aforementioned concealer. She merely gets a chuckle in response.

Almost completely dressed, Remy is still digging around in the closet and becoming increasingly frustrated by the moment. "Hey Babe?" She calls out to the blonde, but continues before getting a response. "Have you seen my suspenders?" She wonders.

The temporary dean rolls her eyes as she blends the makeup on her neck in to make it appear natural. "Didn't we have this conversation yesterday? They're on the far-"

"No, I know about those ones. I was just wondering about the pair I had on yesterday. I can't seem to find them," she clarifies as she gives up on them being somewhere in the closet.

"Oh, those ones. The last time I saw them was in Cuddy's office before we…" Allison trails off and both women's eyes widen in realization.

"They're still in there. You have to get them before Cuddy finds them," Hadley says.

"_**I**_have to get them?" Allison snorts incredulously. "They're _**your**_ suspenders. You can at least help me search for them," she suggests, wondering why it must fall on her to comb the office.

"I can't. House is sending Foreman and me to the patient's classroom to search for signs of encephalitis," the younger woman argues back.

This seems to take the wind out of the blonde's sails. "Why is he sending you two?" She can't help but ask, getting the sneaking suspicion that her former boss is trying to play them.

"I don't know. Does it matter?" Remy shrugs, not seeing the problem.

"No, I guess not," Allison concedes thoughtfully. "So, you're meeting him at the school?"

"Yeah. As soon as I drop Lexi off, I'm going down there," she confirms, settling on a random pair of suspenders as she does so.

Cameron glances at the time on the alarm clock and sighs. "Then the two of you had better get going soon so she isn't late," she informs the brunette.

Remy notes the time before beginning to move faster, hopping around on one foot as she tries to pull on her boot, much to Allison's amusement.

"Not funny," Thirteen grumbles before dashing out of the bedroom, leaving a sullen ER doctor behind. Less than a moment later, she darts back in to drop a light kiss on the blonde's lips. "Sorry, I almost forgot," she smiles sweetly before disappearing once again.

This time, Allison is grinning when the other woman leaves, ridiculously happy to be back in this relationship.

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**8:15 am**

In the patient's classroom, Foreman discreetly watches Thirteen as Thirteen blatantly watches the children playing, a small smile on her lips. He knows that the best way to get to the other woman's heart is to appeal to her maternal side and take an interest in her daughter.

"How's Alexis?" He questions, not looking at her under the pretense of removing a heating vent.

Remy tears her gaze away from the other children to grin at her coworker. "She's great. Her class went on a field trip to the zoo yesterday," she informs him, the subject of her daughter always able to lift her spirits.

At her enthusiasm, the corners of Foreman's mouth turn slightly upwards into what passes for as a smile from him. "I've always wanted to have kids," he replies honestly as he looks briefly between the children in the room and the brunette woman before him.

"Well, I'm pretty sure all of these ones have parents," she smirks before deciding to actually get to work looking for anything that could cause Sarah's suspected encephalitis.

"You know what I mean," Foreman rolls his eyes before he grows quiet and hesitates. "I'd like to have a daughter like Alexis. She seems like the perfect kid," he then says, trying to be as subtle as possible.

"Most of the time she is. I got lucky with her ending up that way," Hadley chuckles as she goes through the desk and drawers.

"I'm pretty sure that the reason she ended up that way was because she had you as a mother," the older doctor can't help but reply.

Foreman cringes when Remy blushes faintly and returns to her search, not sure what else to say. He sighs, all of his attempts to hint at his interest in being involved in her life and suggest at his more-than-friendly interest in her have fallen flat so far.

"Have you ever thought of having a child? You know, getting pregnant and all of the stuff that goes along with it," he wonders aloud, clarifying his question as she arches an eyebrow in response to the question of her having a kid.

"Not really," Thirteen shrugs nonchalantly. "I mean, I've been a parent to Lexi since I was 17 and too young to be realistically thinking about it. Besides, I always just assumed that I would never have kids because I wouldn't want to risk them having Huntington's," she elaborates before closing a drawer and turning thoughtful. "But I guess I can start considering it since I'm on the trial," she thinks out loud, not sure if that is something she would want at this point. She'd have to talk to Allison to see if the other woman even wanted to have a child of her own.

At the mention of the trial and the brunette's trust in the results, Foreman has to look away, unable to tell her that she shouldn't start making plans just yet. "Yeah," he mumbles vaguely, resuming his search in silence.

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**10:35 am**

House barges into Cuddy's office with a reluctant Thirteen in tow. She can't help but wonder why he deems it necessary to drag her with him some times, but not others. All she knows is that is makes her a little uneasy being around her clandestine girlfriend with her boss around.

Cameron glances up from the computer screen and arches an unimpressed eyebrow at the intruders. "What is it, House?" She questions, her eyes briefly darting over to meet the brunette's expectant gaze with a subtle shake of her head; she couldn't find the suspenders.

"Proof of encephalitis," House announces, ignoring his employee's eye roll as she folds her arms irritably across her chest.

"What proof?" The blonde challenges.

"A special ed kid with a raging viral infection and three dead mosquitoes that potentially carry the picornavirus responsible for the encephalitis," he grins, holding up the vial of dead bugs triumphantly.

Allison glances over to the dark-haired woman, who shakes her head, before going over and inspecting the insects more closely. "Those are fruit flies and the 'raging viral infection' is just the common cold," she shoots down her former boss, trying not to appear smug, much to her girlfriend's amusement.

House turns to glare at Thirteen. "_**You **_are not helping me at all," he growls.

"I don't know what you expected me to do. You dragged me down here, remember?" She smirks, earning a scowl.

"The results of Kutner's ultrasound shows nothing in her pancreas which rules out a pancreatic tumor," House adds.

"I'm sorry House, but I'm going to need more proof than three dead bugs and a runny nose," the blonde stands strong, avoiding looking at the other woman as she does so.

"Well, that's all the proof I can give you! If you don't let me cut into her skull to do the nerve conduction test then I won't do anything," he petulantly tells her.

"I'm not going to say yes to you just because you're Gregory House," Cameron snaps back, her own tone starting to rise.

Sensing the potential for conflict, Remy decides that it's time to step in. As much as she may enjoy screwing with her boss in the same way he screws with others, she trusts his judgment on this.

"Look, Dr. Cameron, why don't you let House do the test only if he agrees to let you assist so you can supervise him? House will get his test and you will get to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid to screw it up," the youngest doctor suggests rationally, instantly silencing the duo.

House takes a moment to think about it, but grudgingly admits that it's the best he's going to get…if Cameron agrees. "I don't have a problem with it," he says.

The shorter woman meets the intense gaze of her girlfriend and sighs in defeat. "Okay," she concedes, earning a smile from the brunette, one that she easily returns.

House struggles to suppress a grin. Judging by the events of the last two days, he realized that all he needs for Cameron to give in to his demands is to bring Thirteen with him. This just seems to further prove his theory about them being back together. However, before he can comment on their relationship status, Hadley's cell phone goes off.

Glancing down at the caller ID, Remy frowns. "I have to take this," she informs the other two doctors but only looking at her girlfriend. "Lisa?" She questions as she answers the phone right before the office door closes.

A brief and irrational flash of jealousy crosses over Allison's face as she hears who just called the other woman. It quickly passes and she presses on before House can comment on it. "Get the patient prepped for the test," she orders him firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Narrowing his eyes, House decides to push the issue later. Still, he is immensely pleased at the blonde being jealous of Cuddy.

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**11:10 am**

Allison is decked out in her pink scrubs and watching the blood pressure and conduction monitors as House asks Sarah questions. So far, there seems to be no changes in her nerve conductivity. She begins to get the feeling that approving this procedure was a mistake even though her girlfriend led her to believe that she thought this was the answer.

At the sound of static coming in through the observation deck, she glances up to find Kutner standing at the window with his cell phone up to the intercom. _"Step away from the patient, House!" _Cuddy orders from her end of the line, the sound of Rachel crying easily distinguished in the background.

"No!" House barks back in response as he tries to ignore the dean in favor of continuing the test.

"_You're going to kill the patient," _the dean tries to reason, her voice firm.

"What?" Sarah questions, worried.

"Her brain is still functioning normally," the blonde reports, hoping that her former boss will end this stupid test now that he has been proven wrong.

"_Dr. Cameron! How could you approve this?" _Cuddy snaps angrily, holding back her tears of frustration as she looks over at the crying baby in the crib.

"I'm familiar with the case," Cameron states, trying to remain calm.

"_And I'm familiar enough to know that this procedure is unnecessary," _the other woman retorts, House watching on in amusement.

"It is?" Sarah pipes in once more, sounding even more concerned than before.

As House offers his unsolicited and snide advice, Allison notices that the patient is finally having a reaction. "Her BP is dropping!" She announces to the bickering duo, reaching for a syringe of dopamine to correct the issue.

"_Use the dopamine to-"_

"I'm already on it!" The blonde indignantly cuts her boss off. "Rachel needs you more than I do," she adds a moment later as the patient begins to stabilize.

"_I don't know what she needs," _Cuddy admits brokenly just as the sound of her front door opening and closing sounds through the phone.

"_Lisa…Is everything okay?" _Another voice questions upon entering the baby's room to find Cuddy sitting in a chair by the crib with her cell phone on speakerphone in hand and silent tears running down her face.

"Rem?" Allison blurts out in surprise at the sound of her girlfriend's voice.

Thirteen looks at the phone in the dean's hand and quickly realizes that someone must have informed Cuddy of what House was doing…Kutner most likely. Still, she can't help but smile warmly upon hearing her girlfriend.

"_Hi, Al," _she greets briefly before turning her attention back to the exhausted woman before her. _"Lisa," _she prompts in a gentle tone, offering the crying child a furtive glance as she tries to get her to tell her what's going on.

"Could someone _**please **_shut that baby up?!" Sarah snaps angrily, much to everyone's shock.

"Her nerve conduction is speeding up as her BP drops," Cameron notes in confusion, vaguely hearing Cuddy tearfully beg the baby to stop crying.

"That's impossible," House replies as he goes over to see the results for himself.

"I'm ending this test before Sarah has a stroke," she decides.

"Would someone hang up the damn phone?!" Sarah growls out in irritation.

Remy listens to House try and analyze the fact that the patient is only annoyed by the sound of crying babies with most of her attention focused on the older woman in the room.

"_Please, I'll give you whatever you want if you just stop crying," _Lisa attempts to bargain with the little girl as she lifts her out of the cradle.

The younger woman knows that she is here just for moral support and that this is something that the shorter woman must do on her own. A smile forms when Cuddy cradles the back of Rachel's head in her hand, the crying almost immediately ceasing.

As if sensing what is going on at her boss' home, Allison reveals a vague smile of her own. "Put Sarah's skull back on," she orders once the patient stabilizes.

Lisa locks eyes with the baby in her arms and Rachel smiles and coos at her in response, resulting in a teary and relieved laugh from the dean. _"Thank you," _she quietly says to Hadley, just happy that she had someone that she knew she could call on.

"_I didn't do anything, you did," _Thirteen points out, not willing to take any of the credit. Realizing that the phone is still on, she goes over and snaps it shut, figuring that the other end has already been cut off at this point as well.

Even after the conversation is cut off, a small smile remains on Cameron's face at having been able to hear her lover's voice. She wipes it off as quickly as possible as she realizes that House is still staring at her knowingly. Without another word, she turns and leaves, not wanting to wait around for the mocking to begin.

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**1:30 pm**

Allison glances up from the paperwork in front of her when she hears a knock on the office door. "Come in," she sighs, wondering who wants what from her now. Her expression instantly softens once her girlfriend enters and shuts the door behind her. "Hey you," she grins.

Thirteen can't help but smile back upon seeing the blonde's expression brighten up. "Hey back," she greets in return.

"What brings you down here?" The blonde questions with a mischievous smile playing on her lips, earning a chuckle at her tone.

"I just wanted to tell you in person that the echocardiograph confirmed House's diagnosis of PDA and that Chase is scheduled to go in and repair her heart later today," Remy answers as she casually slides her hands into the pockets of her lab coat.

"You just came down here to talk business?" Cameron frowns in disappointment.

"And to tell you that Lisa and Rachel seem to have bonded during that debacle during the nerve conduction test," Hadley adds as she begins to move closer to the woman seated at the desk. "And to give you this…" she trails off.

Allison furrows her brows when her girlfriend trails off. "Give me-" she finds herself unable to continue as a pair of soft lips meet her own, causing her eyes to flutter closed and a hand to reach up and cup the younger woman's face in her hands, drawing her face closer.

Remy pulls away a moment later with self-satisfied smirk as she sees the seated doctor's eyes still closed. "It was good to hear your voice on the phone when I was at Lisa's earlier," she admits quietly and honestly.

The shorter woman allows her eyes to open at the sound of the other doctor's voice. "Yours too…but House noticed and I'm pretty sure he knows that we're back together by now," she hesitantly informs her.

All Remy can do is nod, already having anticipated this happening sooner or later. "I'm surprised it took him this long," she notes as Cameron stands up from her chair to pull her in for another kiss.

It doesn't take long for the brunette to get lost in the feel of her girlfriend's mouth once again. However, she finds herself drifting out of their sensual haze when Allison hooks her thumbs through her belt loops to tug her closer. She pulls away, the blonde groaning at the loss of contact.

"What?" The ER doctor questions, sounding suspiciously like a whine.

"Did you ever find my suspenders?" Remy wonders as she pointedly looks down at the belt loops of her pants, fingers through them instead of being hooked around her suspenders.

"No," Cameron breathes out as she drops her head on the taller woman's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her waist instead of hanging onto her pants.

With a chuckle, Thirteen drops a light kiss on the other doctor's forehead. "I should get going anyways just in case House decides to randomly pop back in here," she reasons.

Reluctantly, Allison releases her hold on the younger doctor. "I guess," she grudgingly acknowledges.

"I love you," Hadley says sincerely, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind the other woman's ear.

"I know," Cameron breathes out, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth upon seeing the arched eyebrow on her girlfriend's face. "Oh, please…You know I love you too," she rolls her eyes playfully as she places a chaste kiss on the brunette's lips.

"Yeah, I know…I just never get tired of hearing you say it," she grins back, he hands coming to rest on the blonde's hips.

Covering the other woman's hands with her own, Allison removes them from her hips. "What happened to leaving before House could find us in a compromising position?" She challenges.

"Fine, fine. I'm going," Hadley groans before stealing a kiss and making her way to the door. "Bye Ally," she chuckles.

"Bye Rem," Cameron playfully responds as they mirror the words used when Remy left the day before after the team was told to run and MRI. With that, Remy is out the door.

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After finding out that the patient is going to be okay, Cuddy makes her way to her office to speak with Cameron, Rachel being carried along in her carrier. As she nears her office, she is a little taken back when she watches Thirteen exit with a smile on her face. The young doctor doesn't even notice the dean and she walks off, oblivious.

Cuddy is forced to reconsider what House mentioned earlier to her in regards to the couple as she had simply dismissed it at the time. Taking a moment to readjust the handle of the carrier in her hands, the dean opens the office door and enters.

At the sound of someone barging into the office, Cameron looks up in preparation to ream House for bothering her again. Her mouth snaps shuts as soon as she realizes who the 'intruder' is.

"Dr. Cuddy," the blonde greets in a neutral tone, unsure what to expect from the other woman after what they went through over the phone during the conduction test.

The woman in question takes a deep breath and prepares to swallow her pride. "I just wanted to apologize for having doubted you today. You allowed a procedure that was vital for coming up with the correct diagnosis," she informs the younger woman.

For a moment, Cameron is a little shocked at the open and honest apology. "Thank you, Dr. Cuddy. I appreciate hearing that," she responds sincerely.

"And I'll be sure to trust your instincts next time," Lisa adds as further assurance that she is confident in the other doctor's abilities.

At this, Allison averts her gaze and nervously takes her bottom lip between her teeth. "As grateful as I am for this opportunity, I just don't think that there is going to be a 'next time'," she cautiously tells her boss.

"If you're doing this because you're still mad at me for yelling at you in the OR-"

"It isn't about that," Cameron cuts her off. She is self-aware enough to know her biggest weakness in terms of regulating House and his team. "I know that the procedure I approved was insane and never should have been approved with so little evidence."

"But it worked out for the best," Cuddy points out, having a feeling as to where this conversation is going.

"Even though it worked out this time, I won't always be so lucky and I know that I just can't say no to Re…House," the slightly taller doctor winces as she corrects herself from her near-slip.

"So I guess that just leaves me," Lisa sighs dejectedly, unwilling to let the other woman's slip-up go unacknowledged. "But this isn't really about House, is it?" She challenges. by looking around the office, her focus settling on something horribly out of place.

"No…I'm sorry," is the other woman's genuine apology as she realizes that she's been caught.

"How long have you and Dr. Hadley been back together?" The older woman wonders, hiding her smirk.

"A little over a week. How did you…" the stunned woman trails off, curious as to how her boss figured it out.

"House brought it to my attention that, every time you gave him the okay to do a procedure, Remy was present in the room. When she was with Rachel and me earlier when we were on the phone during the conduction test, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face when she heard your voice," Cuddy explains.

"You came to the conclusion that we were back together based off a smile and something that House told you?" The skeptical younger woman questions, unable to believe that just scant evidence could have clued her in.

At this, the dean smirks mischievously. "Well, that and the fact that I'm fairly certain that those are Remy's suspenders hanging off the side of my bookshelf," she points out the final piece of evidence that helped her determine the relationship status of the two women.

Allison's head snaps to the side to spot the suspenders that she spent half the morning looking for, a blush making its way to her cheeks. "They came with the décor," she weakly tries to defend herself, her assertion sounding more like a question than a statement.

"Uh huh," the unconvinced woman chuckles. "Then I suppose you won't mind if I dispose of them?" She wonders as she goes over to retrieve them.

"Okay. Fine, we're busted," Cameron grudgingly admits, unwilling to let the shorter doctor get rid of the suspenders.

"That's what I thought," Lisa grins smugly before her expression drops into a frown. "You guys didn't have sex in here, did you?" She wonders suspiciously. The averted gaze and deepening blush are all the answer she needs. "Oh my god," she groans.

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Elsewhere in the hospital, Foreman goes into the room where the Huntington's trial drug is being stored. After his talk with House, it didn't take long for him to finally make his decision regarding whether or not to switch Thirteen off the placebo.

The two people that he wanted to talk to most about his dilemma also just happened to be the two people that he _**couldn't **_talk to about it. For obvious reasons, he couldn't talk to Remy because she has a vested interest in being put on the real drug. He couldn't talk to Cameron about it for several reasons including, but not limited to: the fact that they were no longer on speaking terms, she also had a vested interest in Remy's well-being, and she was 'competition' for the brunette's affections.

Opening up a cabinet, Foreman pulls out two IV bags, one with the placebo and one with the actual drug. Hesitating for only a moment, he carefully switches out the labels with the patient numbers on them. Replacing the IV bags, all he can do now is sit back and hope for the best.

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I know I seem to have taken my sweet time getting this out but, to my defense, there was a lot of action that needed to be covered. That being said, this also took so long because of me being sick, busy and generally lazy. The next chapter to take quite so long as this one, of that I am certain.

Ooh, so now that _Big Baby_ is done and over with _The Greater Good_ is up next. This one will be a lot of fun and there is a whole lot of issues for me to play with in regards to Thirteen and Cameron's relationship and it's past issues. Expect Alexis and Robert to pop back in within the next two chapters (since I'm sure _The Greater Good_ will require two). After the next episode is finished with, I'm pretty much going to split off from rewriting the episodes with a Camteen twist, though I may end up incorporating some of the patients into my chapters (like the one from _The Softer Side_ just because it might be fun).

So, I'm glad you guys are liking the episode rewrites so far and that you also seem to be supportive of the Thirteen/Cuddy friendship. Also, I know quite a few of you were happy to see the return of the suspenders in this chapter.

As for my other two stories (_**Taking the Long Way **_and _**This Year…**_, in case you forgot), I've hit a little bit of a writer's block with them, but I will update them as soon as I can manage to work through it. Um, I guess that's it. See you next time…


	17. Side Effects May Include

**Spoilers!**: _The Greater Good_

**A/N**: So, here it is, the first part of this episode. I wanted to end this chapter at a later point in the episode, but it was beginning to run long because of the last several sections. This episode may end up going as long as 3 chapters, but we'll see. I don't want the next chapter to end up as oppressively long as the last chapter.

**A/N3**: I tried to stick as close to the original episode as possible because of how important it will be in regards to Cadley's future and how Thirteen deals with the outcome…and Foreman. Obviously, the Cadley relationship is the only difference in how this was written.

**A/N3**: Yes, I know that I said that it wouldn't be so long until the next update, I lied. Not on purpose, mind you, I just had a lot of 'life' stuff happen in rapid succession over the last several months.

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**Chapter Seventeen- Side Effects May Include**

**Nine Days Later**

The soothing sensation of fingers combing through her hair causes Remy to slowly drift into consciousness. Though her eyes remain closed, a soft smile graces her features and she tries to sink deeper into the bed. A light chuckle lets her know that her girlfriend is very aware that she's now awake.

Allison carefully watches the younger woman crack open an eye. "You drool," she whispers tenderly, fighting back a smile as she allows her fingers to continue running through the other woman's dark hair, the two of them laying on their sides facing one another.

Eyes widening slightly at the accusation, Remy brings her hand up to wipe the side of her mouth…but finds it dry. Narrowing her eyes, she playfully pushes the blonde's shoulder. "Do _**not**_," she corrects defensively.

"No," Allison thoughtfully agrees, busted. "But I'd still love you even if you did," she tacks on with a fond smile.

With a chuckle, the taller woman reaches over to place a hand on the back of her girlfriend's neck and draw her in to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I would certainly hope so," she replies with a smirk.

"It's going to take a lot more than a little drool to get rid of me," the blonde assures the younger doctor as she shifts closer and drapes an arm over the other woman's hip.

"Good," Hadley murmurs against her lips before giving her another chaste kiss.

Remy then proceeds to run her hand along the ER doctor's side and along her hip before removing it completely from the blonde's body. At the loss of contact, Cameron frowns slightly before yelping in surprise as the brunette playfully swats her on the butt through the blanket.

"Did you just…" Allison trails off with a quirked eyebrow and unable to believe that the other woman just smacked her ass.

"Come on, let's get ready for work," the younger woman directs, her eyes twinkling with mischief and amusement at the stunned look on her girlfriend's face before she attempts to get out of bed.

"No," the slightly older doctor pouts, her hold tightening around the other woman.

"If you hurry we can ride in together," Remy promises in an effort to get the ER doctor motivated.

"Fine," she agrees as she reluctantly pulls out of the embrace. Usually, she allows herself a little longer to get ready seeing as how she doesn't have to drop Alexis off before work and can, therefore, leave a little later than the other woman.

"Okay, let's go," Hadley orders as she stands up and tugs at the smaller doctor's hand to get her to follow.

"Where?" Allison wonders, brows furrowed in confusion.

"_**Shower**_," Remy draws out obviously, a smile threatening to take over her features.

"Together?" She questions in an unusually high-pitched squeak and earning an enthusiastic nod in response. "But Alex-"

"Her alarm won't go off for another twenty minutes," the brunette assures with a roguish grin.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cameron giggles as she rolls off the bed and leads the way to the shower. Remy follows behind, shaking her head in amusement.

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**7:50 am**

Foreman slowly strolls down the hallway with two cups of coffee in hand as he makes his way towards the main elevator downstairs. As per his calculations, Remy should be walking into the hospital any minute and he hopes to be the first to greet her through the door. Besides, one of the coffees in his hand is for her and fixed just how she likes it.

Despite a week of ribbing and innuendo from House, Foreman still isn't totally convinced that Hadley and Cameron are back together yet. The brunette has yet to confirm or deny the rumor and she barely even reacts to their boss' taunts. She hasn't given anything away and he has been watching her closer than just about anyone since he switched out her placebo for the real drug a little over a week ago.

All of his doubts as to the relationship status of his female coworker are completely put to rest as he enters the lobby and turns towards the entrance to find Thirteen walking in, right on time…and accompanied by none other than Dr. Allison Cameron. Hanging back just out of sight, Foreman watches an amused smile light up the blonde's face as Remy laughs at something she said.

He focuses much of his ire on how close they seem to be walking next to one another as well as the joined hands casually hanging between them, their fingers intimately interlaced, and their free hands grasping on to Starbucks cups. The couple stops just short of the elevator, where they must reluctantly part ways. Without warning, Cameron places a chaste kiss on the brunette's cheek with an unrepentant smile as a pleasantly surprised grin breaks across Remy's face.

Less than a moment later, Allison briefly squeezes her girlfriend's hand before releasing it and grudgingly heading off to the ER. The brunette's grin tempers itself into a thoughtful smile as she hits the button for the elevator and waits, missing the other woman already.

With a heavy sigh, Foreman sullenly throws the extra coffee into a nearby trash can before making his way over to the younger doctor standing by the elevator.

"Hi," he greets the other woman, trying to keep from coming across as too disappointed.

"Hey," Remy grins just as the elevator doors open to let them in, clearly in a good mood.

"Congratulations," Foreman then offers, forcing himself to sound sincere. He noticed the confused expression on the brunette's face as he presses the button for their floor. "About you and Cameron being back together," he elaborates, looking straight ahead at the elevator door and not meeting her gaze.

Hadley cocks her head to the side, a vague smile still present on her face. "How did-"

"I just saw you two walk in together," he explains himself, knowing exactly what it was that she was about to ask.

After a moment of silence consisting of Thirteen studying the man beside her, she decides to take his congratulations at face value and not read too much into his tone or behavior following it. "Thank you," she quietly replies as they reach their floor.

Foreman merely nods before striding out of the elevator and towards the Diagnostics Office, not sparing her a glance as he does so. Rolling her eyes at her coworker's attitude, Remy follows him out and prays that they have a case today.

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**9:00 am**

While Taub is explaining to the patient, Dana, why she is able to get a CT scan so fast, Remy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She subtly brings a hand up and rubs idly at her eyes, feeling her vision blur slightly as her incessant headache from the last couple of days makes itself known once again. Knowing that she can't get to her pain killers until the CT is taken care of, she decides to focus back in on the conversation at hand.

"I actually quit my job at the cancer research facility eight months ago," Dana responds to something that Taub said, gaining the brunette's undivided attention.

"Why?" Thirteen blurts out almost immediately.

The other woman turns her attention to the doctor who, up until now, has remained relatively silent. "I had a benign uterine myoma rupture and I needed to go in for emergency surgery to have it repaired. While I was recovering I decided to take stock of my life so far and I realized that I could have died without ever having been happy," the patient explains calmly and without hesitation.

"So you quit your job and stopped working on finding a cure for retinoblastoma?" Hadley asks incredulously. "Why not just buy a sports car and have an affair like everyone else that decides they're unhappy?" She questions, her tone a little more harsh than she would have liked. It takes less than a moment to see the brief flash of hurt on Taub's face at her suggestion to Dana and she cringes as she realizes what she just said.

"Being a doctor was what I was _**supposed **_to do and I made the decision to focus on what I _**want **_to do. Right now, what I want to do is learn how to cook and run a kitchen," Dana smiles slightly as she speaks.

Remy resists the urge to snap at the former researcher for giving up on trying to cure an incurable disease, unwilling to let her bitterness over her Huntington's color her treatment of this patient. So, she clenches her jaw to prevent herself from saying something that she'll regret and merely offers a curt nod in response to the other woman's decision.

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**9:40 am**

It being a slow day in the ER so far, Allison has been sitting in her office under the pretense of doing her charting. In reality, however, she is thinking back to the shower she shared with her girlfriend earlier this morning with an oblivious smile plastered to her face. Said smile is wiped off almost instantly when she hears a knock at the door.

The blonde shuffles a few papers around on her desk to make it appear as though she really was busy in case it's one of the nurses or Cuddy. "Come in," she allows, holding back a smirk as she thinks back to the look on her boss' face when she figured out that she and Remy had sex in her office.

Opening the door slowly, Thirteen steps into the office already looking tired less than two hours into her shift. "Hey Ally," she greets the slightly older woman, leaning down to place a short kiss on her lips and smiling softly as she takes a seat across from her at the desk.

Taking the brunette's demeanor, Cameron frowns slightly. "Everything okay, Rem?" She wonders with concern.

Hadley considers the question for a moment. Her headache only seems to be getting worse and she hopes the painkillers she took a little while ago begin to kick in soon. She brings her hand up to massage the bridge of her nose in a futile attempt to ward the headache away. Not wanting to worry her girlfriend, she settles for the most obvious and less personal explanation for the source of her weariness.

"It's just the patient," is her simple and dismissive reply.

Allison furrows her brow in response to the taller doctor's vagueness. "What about your patient?" She prompts, hoping to get an answer that can help her better understand her girlfriend's mood.

Remy leans back in her seat and runs a hand through her hair. "Do you remember a few months back when Wilson read that article in _Modern Medicine_ about researchers being close to finding a cure for retinoblastoma?" She questions, knowing the other woman would likely remember the oncologist's enthusiasm as he told the ER doctor about it in the cafeteria one day.

"Of course. He kept going on about how the head researcher, Dana - Something, was a pioneer in her field," Allison replies, confused over the abrupt change in subject.

"Dana Miller," Thirteen supplies the name.

It takes only but a moment for the blonde to catch on, her eyes widening in realization. "Your patient is the head of the research team that is close to curing retinoblastoma?" She asks incredulously and, maybe, a little awed.

"No…Dana Miller is the _**former**_ head of the research team that _**was **_close to curing it," the younger doctor corrects, an edge of bitterness in her tone.

"'Former'? Why 'former'?" Allison wonders.

"She ruptured a uterine myoma, went into surgery and decided that she didn't want to be a doctor anymore because it wasn't what she really wanted to do. So now she's learning how to cook and run a restaurant," Hadley scoffs.

Cameron considers the brunette's words and tone with a small amount of surprise at her underlying anger over the issue. "Being close to death forces people to look at their life and reevaluate their priorities. It sounds like she just realized that she was unhappy with her life," she notes, thinking that Remy should understand that better than anyone considering what she went though after getting her Huntington's diagnosis.

"Yeah, well who _**isn't**_?" The other doctor snaps back irritably, the pain behind her eyes finally staring to get to her once combined with her frustration.

For a moment the ER doctor is simply stunned by the outburst before her shock turns into hurt. "Are you really _**that **_unhappy?" She asks, reading between the lines of the other woman's words.

For a moment Remy is confused before she remembers the last thing she said. "No, of course not. You know what I meant," she shakes her head and tries to dismiss the suggestion with a smile.

"Apparently I don't because it sounds a lot like you were trying to say that you aren't happy," Cameron points out.

The brunette sighs and rubs her eyes to clear away the fuzziness before standing up to go take some more pain medication. "Ally, I love you and Alex and my dad…I love my life," she explains, hesitating slightly at the end.

Picking up on the hesitation, Allison presses forward. "Then why would you imply that _**every**_one is unhappy if you know that you aren't unhappy at all?" She challenges.

"I'm sorry, Al," the brunette breathes out her sincere apology, deciding to come clean about what's really bothering her. "I have had this monster headache all morning and I guess it's made me a little.." she trails off, making a vague hand gesture as she does so, "…snappish," she finishes after taking a moment to fish around for a word that accurately describes her attitude this morning.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? It's nothing serious, is it? Do you think that maybe you should take the rest of the day off and go home and lay down?" The blonde asks in quick succession with concern written all over her face, her features softening exponentially upon hearing about her girlfriend's discomfort.

"No, it's nothing serious and I'll be fine. I didn't tell you because I know how you like to worry," Remy smiles slightly, underplaying the severity and lying about it having just come on this morning when it was really four days ago.

"If you're sure…" the slightly older woman trails off, unconvinced.

"Yes, Ally, I'm sure," Thirteen chuckles.

Cameron opens her mouth to say something, but the sound of her girlfriend's pager cuts her off before she has the chance. With an apologetic frown, Remy checks it before standing up.

"The patient's CT scan results are back," she regretfully informs the blonde.

"Yeah," Allison replies just for the sake of replying, taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she struggles to come up with something substantial to say. "I love you, Rem," she settles on.

In response, the taller doctor offers up a crooked smile. "I love you too," she echoes her sentiments with the same amount of sincerity as the other woman did. Hadley leans over the desk to give the blonde a short kiss before she leaves. "I'll see you at home," she promises as she pulls away.

"Can't wait," Allison grins as she watches her girlfriend step out of the office, closing the door on her way out. All concerns for the younger woman's health momentarily forgotten.

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**10:00 am**

In the darkened room, Remy is rubbing slightly at her eyes to try and focus on the lit pictures displaying the CT results with the rest of the team. So far, all she's gotten from this little powwow is that Dana doesn't have asthma and that Taub is saying something about her surgery eight months ago.

"During an oncology rotation, I saw a four year old with retinoblastoma. It ate her eye and spread to her brain. How could someone so close to keeping that from happening again decide to throw in the towel just because she suddenly doesn't think that it's as important as learning how to cook without using the side of a box for directions?" Kutner scoffs to himself over their patient's selfishness.

"Just because horrible diseases are out there it doesn't mean that people should feel compelled to cure them at the expense of their own hobbies and passions," Foreman tries to reason, casting a sidelong glance to Thirteen as he does so.

Remy scoffs in response as she stares at the blurry CT scan in front of her. "I'd really hate to think that the person behind a cure for Huntington's was sitting on a beach somewhere making sandcastles and not working," she argues irritably.

"You can't spend your life looking at the big picture. You have to look out for yourself and the people you care about," the other man continues, trying to convey the deeper meaning to his words.

"Thank you, Foreteen," House interrupts, growing tired of their banter. "Everyone does what makes them happy. Token Black and Token Jew are here because they have no choice, Other Minority is here because it makes him happy to help people, and Dying Lesbian just wants her life to matter before it's prematurely over," he explains, indicating each member of the team as he refers to them as offensively as possible.

Hadley rolls her eyes, grudgingly acknowledging the truth in his statement, but unwilling to tell _**him**_ that. She turns her attention back to the scan only to have Kutner be the one to point out the increased interstitial markings. Shaking her head, she wonders how she managed to miss them after staring at the sheet for so long.

Slowly, Thirteen follows Kutner and Taub out of the office after Foreman suggests pulmonary fibrosis and House send them to do a biopsy.

"'You have to look out for yourself and the people you care about'?" House mocks his senior employee once the others are out of earshot.

"I don't think you, of all people, are in any position to lecture me about being a philanthropist," Foreman informs his boss.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just letting you know what tipped me off that you switched her to the real drug," the older man points out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," is the easy refutation.

"Does Thirteen know?" House ignores the denial.

"She won't," he sighs, knowing that it would be futile to lie.

"Of course she won't. How could something like this _**possibly **_go wrong?" The older man wonders aloud, his snarkery not lost on the dark-skinned doctor.

"You're reading way too much into it," Foreman asserts, feigning a level of confidence that he doesn't really feel.

House scoffs as he twirls his cane up and pokes his employee in the shoulder with it. "I'd hate to be in your overpriced oxford shoes when Cameron finds out you've been tampering with her lady lover's meds," he states, reminding the other man of the big gaping flaw in his plan to woo his uninterested female colleague.

The younger doctor's face remains impassive but a flash of cold panic briefly flickers through his eyes. Noticing this, House merely smirks before exiting the room, humming the tune to 'Mmmbop'.

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**11:10 am**

Thirteen is sitting on the exam table and allowing Foreman to check her reflexes for the trial. Glancing at the brunette's face, Foreman notices the faraway look in her eyes as she seems fixated on some imaginary spot on the wall.

"Everything okay?" He asks, trying to sound like a casual friend and not like her doctor.

"Hmm?" Remy hums out in question, her attention brought back to the present at his inquiry. "Yeah. I'm fine," she then replies a moment later as it sinks in what he was asking.

"Are you sure? You're eyes looked a little glazed over and you've seemed unusually distracted all morning," he explains himself, his hands ceasing their previous movements.

With an amused smile, Hadley brushes off his concerns. "It's nothing. Just a headache is all," she replies nonchalantly.

The mention of a headache sends up a red flag with the older doctor. "It could be a side effect of the drug. I should schedule you for an MRI to make sure everything is okay," he states firmly.

"You're almost as bad as Allison, you know that?" The brunette chuckles before noticing the troubled look on her coworker's countenance. "Foreman - Eric," she corrects herself to make it clear that she's talking to him as a friend and not a patient as she places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine. Really. If it was a side effect of the drug, then it would have showed up weeks ago," she reassures him, her tone more sincere than it was prior.

"You're right," Foreman acknowledges guiltily, his mouth suddenly dry at the contact. Then the hand is gone as she grabs her buzzing pager moments before his goes off as well.

"The patient's MRI results are in," she comments before grabbing her lab coat and leaving the room. Foreman heaves a heavy sigh before following, albeit slowly.

Fifteen minutes later and the entire team is assembled and following their fearless leader back to the office. She allows herself a small smile as House trips over a thin, nearly invisible wire.

"I was in the clinic," Taub immediately excuses itself.

"I was with him," Kutner adds in, not wanting to take the blame.

"Thirteen and I were busy with the trial," Foreman provides the alibi for himself and the other woman.

"I know who it is," House snaps back.

Remy, meanwhile, only keeps half an ear on the differential going on around her as she tries to focus on the MRI in Taub's hand. She turns her head fully to look at the sheet since her vision is a little hazy around the edges. The mention of Dana's liver failing and Foreman's suggestion of a liver granuloma shakes her back to the conversation.

"The liver granuloma could be due to blastomycosis," the sole female fellow decides to contribute. "Maybe the steroids we gave her only made it more powerful and now it's attacking her liver," she further explains.

Looking at her suspiciously, House nods, more to himself than anything. "Okay. Go test a piece of her lung," he orders to the group. "Not you Foreman," he orders the senior doctor on his team.

"What is it now, House?" He questions wearily.

"You have a problem: Thirteen is losing her peripheral vision," the department head announces.

Foreman's brow scrunches in consternation. "How can you-"

"She had to turn her entire head to look at the MRI because she was unable to see from the corner of those pretty blue eyes you can't stop fantasizing about," he holds back a triumphant smirk.

The other doctor simply straightens his back and sets his jaw. "You're wrong," he says firmly before turning and leaving the office.

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**5:20 pm**

Allison swings her locker door shut, biting her lip to hold back the smile threatening to break across her face. Knowing that her girlfriend isn't yet off the clock for the day, she decides to play the role of the good girlfriend by getting the brunette's things together for her.

The blonde deftly turns in the combination of the other woman's locker, removes the lock, and lifts the latch to open it. Cameron first pulls out Hadley's well-worn jacket, taking a moment to inhale the distinct scent on her lover on the material. However, when she reaches in and pulls out the brunette's purse, it comes out at such an awkward angle that something falls out and rolls under the bench.

"Damn it," Allison grumbles to herself as she sets the purse on the bench and kneels down only to stand back up with a half empty, translucent orange prescription pill bottle. She turns it over in her hand and finds her girlfriend's name neatly printed on the label right beneath the name of the drug. "Codeine?" She asks no one in particular, her concerned tone masking an underlying anger and sense of betrayal. The sound of the locker room door opening startles Cameron and she quickly slips the bottle into her pocket and slams her girlfriend's locker shut.

"Hey," Remy greets, pleasantly surprised to see the shorter woman. "What are you doing?" She wonders curiously as she takes note of the blonde standing in front of her locker.

Taking a brief moment to take in the appearance and demeanor of the other woman, Allison regains her bearings and forces a small smile. "Since you weren't off yet, I decided to take the initiative and get your things together for you," is the honest reply.

Remy beams at her thoughtfulness. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you," she replies, her affection deepening for the woman before her with each passing moment.

"I wanted to," the ER doctor insists as she puts the lock back on her girlfriend's locker.

The taller woman makes the few remaining steps required to get into the blonde's space. She places a hand on the side of Cameron's face, tilting it upward, and their lips meet in a soft, slow kiss. Allison curls a hand around the back of her girlfriend's neck to draw her closer.

All too soon, they break apart with Allison being the first to pull away. Once Remy opens her eyes, the older doctor finds herself searching them for something only she knows. With a weary sigh, Cameron rests her head on the taller woman's shoulder, clenching her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay.

"Is everything okay, Ally?" Thirteen asks, her turn to be concerned this time.

The ER doctor nods her head slightly, hating herself for lying. "Just tired. It's been a long day," she says in all honesty.

"That it has," Remy finds herself smiling into the smaller woman's hair. "We should get home," she decides after a moment, pulling out of the embrace after dropping an affection kiss on the top of the other woman's head.

"Yeah," the blonde reluctantly agrees, searching Remy's eyes once more.

Growing increasingly uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Hadley turns away under the pretense of grabbing her purse and jacket, effectively breaking the gaze. With a warm smile, she holds out her hand for the shorter doctor. Allison grips the hand and squeezes it slightly.

"I love you Rems," the ER doctor quietly says.

"I live you too Ally," the Fellow replies, mystified at their odd interaction.

Hands still joined, Cameron follows the younger woman out of the locker room, a forlorn expression directed at the back of the brunette's head. _Her pupils were constricted. They were so small that they looked like pinpricks. She's using again and lying about it. Goddamn it Remy!_

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Dun dun dun! A misunderstanding between our two girls has developed and it will certainly be addressed in the next chapter in a confrontation between Thirteen and Cameron. There will also be an argument between Cameron and Foreman (hee!) as well as Foreman and Thirteen. So, three main confrontations will occur, but not all of them will have a happy ending.

Okay, so I've learned my lesson about promising faster updates. Hopefully you guys will be satisfied with an "I'll update as soon as possible". Deal? This is also assuming that people are even still interested.

Also, I'm going to start a poll that you can reply to either through your review - hint, hint - or through my profile page (newly updated!) or both if you so choose. I'll count any votes. The question is: Assuming you know how this episode ends and the future Foreteen plotlines, how do you feel about me ending this episode or _Unfaithful _with Foreman losing his job/medical license and being written out of the story? A) Awesome plan; B) A good idea as long as I am able to pull it off well; C) Bad idea all around; D) Just use your (my) best judgment. I promise that, if it's cool with you guys, then I have (what I think) is a good plan for the future plotlines, most notably after _Simple Explanation_. I don't want to boot him from the story without reader consult and risk losing readers and "jumping the shark", so to speak.

Not-so-briefly, here are some replies to a few of the reviews I got for the last chapter.

**the pan within** - It's funny that some people thought that House had Thirteen's suspenders when I didn't even intend for it to seem that way. I'm glad that you enjoy Thirteen and Cam being back together as well as your agreement about Foreman being useless.

**Shelby** - Yes, I'd seen _Simple Explanation_ when you reviewed, but I was somewhat glad about Kutner, though I almost hate to say it. I thought he was mostly just comedic relief and was more of a hazard than a valuable member of the team. The spin on that storyline is going to be somewhat more intense than it was on the show, especially as far as Cadley's relationship is concerned. This issue of whether or not I keep Foreman will also impact where it goes as well. Hopefully this chapter is awesome enough for you.

**miralinda** - Sorry it was a long time coming for this update. I always like writing scenes of them getting ready for work together for some reason. I think it has something to do with how intimate and innocent it is. I have no explanation as to how no one else noticed the suspenders until Cuddy saw them, I just wanted to write that last part with Cam and Cuddy really bad (smirk). Yes, I hate Foreman too, especially in this story, obviously. He won't get smashed in the face by Cameron, but she is definitely going to give him a piece of her mind in the next chapter. Thirteen switched from hot girls to Foreman because the writers were afraid to have a long-term lesbian rather than a 'gay-for-sweeps' one…and because it's the FOX Network.

**ferociousmope** - Here it is, finally, the beginning of _The Greater Good_, I hope it was worth the wait and as awesome as you anticipated. Ah, we all love the suspenders and I'm glad you enjoyed Cuddy's reaction to the Camteen sex.

**bigblusky** - As promised, here is the update ;) I'm certainly happy that the episode rewrites have been well received by you guys and how it's similar enough to be believable but different enough not to be dull and redundant. Cam will definitely have an intense reaction to the drug trial drug switch.

**Shananigan** - Sorry for making you wait so long to start seeing the results of the drug trial, especially when you mentioned how much you were looking forward to it. Oh, and I certainly don't mind you telling me that you thought the last chapter was awesome. I will never complain about a compliment :D

**Tortall101** - Now I feel bad for spoiling you about the goings-on of Season 5. I hope this story didn't ruin it too much for you. I like that you like the development of the Cameron/Alexis bonding and the Thirteen/Cuddy friendship.

**momentary **- Well, I'm impressed with how quickly you caught up with this story and the prequel. I'm also pleased to hear that you enjoy the plot as well as you do, especially considering how much I changed Thirteen's history and family. I do agree with the generally inferiority of story sequels and I'm happy to hear that you feel like this isn't one such story. Foreman and Chase are useless and I am being honest to that, as well as too the other characters, as you said. That is a major concern for me as I would hate to write anyone OOC in any of my stories, which you may or may not know. Original characters are weird to write, but I'm glad you feel as though it worked out in this story. I'm glad you find this "refreshing and entertaining", that's definitely nice to hear (or "read" as the case may be) and I certainly hope this chapter kept up with that precedent and that I didn't keep you waiting too, too long ;)

**EvaH2Os** - Did I update soon? No. But eventually? Yes. Sorry it took so long and I hope you still like it.

**Amazon** - Well, I think I may have blushed a little when you said you loved all of my stories and _**This Year**_is coming along slowly, as are my other stories, which is unfortunate. No problem about being a "spelling bitch" though (smirk), I'll try and work on the proper usage of "affect' and "effect". Usually I type so fast that little things like certain words like that get a little mixed up and my spellcheck doesn't flag it.

**CdnGirl01** - No, no. None of my stories have been abandoned, just put on hold. I'm glad that you're excited about them though. The Cam/Foreman confrontation is coming up though and I'm glad your enjoying the episode rewrites. I never lost interest in writing/Camteen/_House_ it just took a backburner to the real-life drama (understatement!) going on with me right now.

Okay, the endnotes are getting way too long now. Until next time, which hopefully won't be too far off. Sorry if it takes a while, but I recently found myself with quite a bit of time on my hands (wry smirk). Only two people on here will get what I mean by that though. Enjoy and, hopefully, review and/or vote please. If you like, of course.


	18. Truth in Small Doses

**Spoilers!**: _The Greater Good_…still.

**A/N**: So, here it is. There will be a lot of drama, a few arguments, and an appearance or two of Alexis.

**A/N2**: Obviously, I did a lot of character swapping for a lot of scenes, mostly Cameron replacing Foreman…but she does replace House in a scene right near the end, which works better as far as this story is concerned.

**A/N3**: Also, yes, I know it's short, especially given the long wait again. Do understand that I had to end it where I did for dramatic purposes [insert evil cackling].

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**Chapter Eighteen- Truth in Small Doses**

**9:30 pm**

Allison watches her girlfriend sitting on the other side of the couch fidgeting and not at all paying attention to the television. The blonde knows that Remy hasn't had any codeine since before they left the hospital since she threw the bottle in her own pocket out of panic. With a sigh, she turns her body towards the other woman, tucking her feet underneath her.

"Rems," she quietly says to get the brunette's attention without startling her.

The woman in question snaps her head to look at Cameron. "Huh?" Thirteen questions, knowing her girlfriend said something but not knowing what it was.

Biting her lower lip, Allison tries to figure out the best way to broach the topic at hand. "Is something wrong?" She settles for giving her girlfriend the chance to come clean on her own.

For her part, Remy begins to panic internally. _Does she know about the medication for my head? Does she know it's worse than I let on? _"My headache still isn't letting up," she simply replies after a moment.

"You're head, right," Allison breathes out, disappointed. She swiftly stands up.

"Where're you going Al?" Hadley questions in confusion over the abrupt move.

"To get you something for your head," the ER doctor answers with far more bitterness than she intended, shocking the both of them.

Remy is on her feet a moment later and following the smaller woman into the back of the apartment, wondering what's gotten into her girlfriend. "What's going on Allison?" She asks as she makes her way into their bedroom.

"You tell me Remy," Cameron snaps as she throws the pill bottle at her girlfriend's chest.

For her part, Hadley barely has time to react as the bottle hits her and her hands reach up and grabs it to keep it from falling. She glances down at the bottle in confusion before realization sinks in along with a feeling of dread.

"Al, I can explain…" the Fellow trails off, having a feeling that she knows where the sudden anger in the other woman's eyes came from.

"You can explain how you lied to me and now you're doing drugs again?" The blonde asks angrily, trying to conceal how hurt she is.

"No, it's not like that," the taller woman desperately cuts in.

"Are you trying to tell me that you're not popping codeine?" Allison challenges.

"Yes!…No," Thirteen rubs her face and groans in frustration. "I'm taking them for _**pain**_."

Cameron scoffs. "Right. You're turning into House, that's what you're doing," she accuses as she grabs her keys off the dresser.

"Whoa, where're you going?" The brunette wonders as she grabs the other woman's arm. "We're nowhere near done talking about this Allison," she tacks on, getting irritated at her girlfriend's refusal to hear her out.

"You can keep talking, but I don't want to listen to it right now," the ER doctor forces out as she shrugs the hand off of her arm. "I can't keep watching you slip into your self-destructive behavior every time I think things are going great," she sighs before walking out of their bedroom, leaving a shell-shocked Thirteen in her wake.

Moments later, the sound of the front door closing reaches the brunette's ears and she winces at the sound of her girlfriend leaving. With a heavy sigh, Remy drops down on the bed wishes that that had gone better.

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**The Next Morning, Thursday**

"Mom?" The small brunette questions in an effort to get the distracted woman's attention. Even though the car is stopped in front of her school, her mother has yet to take her eyes off the space right in front of her or remove the death grip she has on the steering wheel.

"Yes Lexi," Hadley slowly replies as she finally turns her head to look at her daughter.

"Are you and Ally fighting again?" Alexis asks quietly, her voice weak with vulnerability and a touch of fear that things between the two most important women in her life are breaking up once more.

"No, Sweetie," the doctor answers with a worn, false smile in an attempt to reassure the eight year old.

"I heard arguing last night," she counters in an almost accusing tone.

"It was just a misunderstanding Lex. Everything will be just fine, I promise," Remy offers, slightly more confident in her answer this time.

"Okay," the younger Hadley reluctantly accepts the reply. She opens the passenger door and grabs her backpack before meeting her mother halfway for a kiss on the cheek.

"Behave," Hadley instructs with a soft smile, knowing that she has nothing to worry about with her daughter.

"You too," Alex grins before closing the door and making her way to the school's entrance.

Remy allows her smile to fall, taking once last glance at her daughter disappearing into the crowd of children before putting her car in gear and driving off.

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**1:30 pm**

As if steeling himself for battle, Foreman takes a deep breath and is slow to release it. Checking his appearance one final time, he nods in approval to himself before raising his right hand up and knocking firmly on the office door in front of him.

"Who is it?" A feminine voice questions from the other side of the door.

"Foreman…Eric," the dark-skinned man cringes at how awkward he sounded trying to make his visit more personal. There is a pause from the other end which makes him wonder if she'll even grant him entry.

"Come in," Allison finally says after a moment of deliberation. The door opens slowly and he tentatively enters. "What can I do for you Eric?" The blonde asks curiously.

"Nothing," he shakes his head, knowing that all he wants from the other woman is for her to not kill him when he tells her the news.

Cameron tilts her head to the side in confusion. "Then why are you-"

"It's Remy. There's a problem with her and it's…" the older doctor trails off, unsure how to tell his former co-worker that it's his fault.

Allison feels a kind of anger bubbling up inside which causes her to stand up to be somewhat more level with him. "If you are trying to say that you knew about her addiction to codeine and didn't tell me, then I will _**never**_ forgive you," she states in an even tone that still manages to be somewhat menacing, especially given the blonde's usual pleasant demeanor.

"Codeine? She's taking codeine?" Foreman wonders, perplexed.

"You didn't know?" Cameron blurts, feeling a sense of foreboding over what it is that the other man is there to say. "Then what the hell are you talking about?"

"I found out that Remy was originally on the placebo during the trial," he begins slowly and calmly in hopes that it will force the younger woman to remain calm herself.

"What do you mean 'originally'?" The suspicious doctor questions.

"About a week ago I switched her to the real drug and-"

"And now she's experiencing the side effects, right?" Allison snaps rhetorically.

"I think her peripheral vision is failing and the codeine may signify that that she's been experiencing severe headaches. If there's anything else, I haven't noticed it yet," Foreman goes on to explain himself.

"What the hell were you thinking Eric?! Why would you do that and risk your career over something so…" Cameron trails off as her eyes widen in realization. "You didn't know we were back together yet and you thought you had a chance with her, didn't you?" She accuses, getting in his face now. Her rage, at this point, is nothing more than an outlet for her own guilt over starting the fight with her girlfriend the night before.

"I told myself that, as long as it helped her, then it didn't matter if she chose me or not. But when I saw that the two of you were back together, I knew that I was still selfishly hoping she would have chosen me," he admits.

"So that's why you're here, to assuage your guilt. How can you be so fucking selfish by playing with her life like that? This isn't a goddamn game Eric!"

"I just thought you should hear it from me. I think I owe you that much."

"Well, that sure is big of you. Does Remy know yet?"

"No, I haven't-"

"Where is she?" Allison asks forcefully.

"The lab running test to check if the patient has blastocycosis," is the automatic response.

Allison pushes past him forcefully, even though she knows she could have just as easily gone around him, but she pauses with her hand on the doorknob and turns around. "You are the most selfish person I have ever met, Eric. House at least doesn't try to hide his selfishness behind good intentions. Just know that you had better hope to god that nothing happens to my girlfriend because of this," she issues the barely concealed threat without batting an eye before turning on her heel and making her way to the lab.

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Thirteen leans back from the microscope she is hunched over and rubs her eyes to try and clear her vision, to no avail. After a sleepless night, all she wanted was to call out, but she knew that House wouldn't hear of it. So, stifling a yawn, she prepares to go back to the sample.

A moment later, the door sliding open and determined footsteps heading right to her draws the brunette's attention back up. "Ally, what are you-"

"Look straight ahead," the ER doctor orders without any room for discussion. Furrowing her brows in confusion, Remy obeys. "Follow my finger," she states, holding her index finger up and trailing in front of the taller woman's face. Cameron frowns and puts her finger down before shining her penlight in her girlfriend's eyes. She turns it off and sighs to herself.

"What's going on Allison?" Hadley finally finds her voice upon noticing the expression on her lover's face.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you explain last night and jumped to conclusions about being addicted to codeine. Your peripheral vision is failing, which explains your headaches," Cameron says in a contrite tone.

Remy nods numbly. "So, I guess this means that, since this is a real side effect and I know now that I'm on the actual drug, the drug company is going to remove me from the trial," she sighs in defeat.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Allison looks her girlfriend right in the eye as she continues. "Not quite. Foreman found out that you were on the placebo so he switched you to the real drug a week ago because he saw how it was helping the other patients. He just came into my office and told me," she offers quietly.

"So I'll stop taking the real drug then and my vision should return to normal," Thirteen concludes decisively, trying to keep her nerves from showing. She stands up and runs her fingers through her hair before turning to the other woman. "I have to go let them know that Dana tested negative for blastomycosis and that we're back to square one," she sighs, trying to avoid the inevitable conversation and hide her profound disappointment in the drug trial…and in Foreman.

The blonde studies her girlfriend for a moment before enveloping her in a warm embrace. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you out last night. You were trying to tell me something important and I shouldn't have suspected the worst like I did," she apologizes quietly.

Glad for not being subjected to the deep conversation she was dreading, Remy releases a sigh of relief. "I'm more than happy to put it behind us," she replies.

"Good," Allison smiles, reluctantly pulling away from the embrace. "Now get that cute little ass upstairs and do your job," she teases with a mischievous grin before playfully smacking her girlfriend on the aforementioned body part, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the brunette.

"Ally!" The shocked doctor admonishes, a smile barely concealed through her scowl.

"Oh please. You liked it," Cameron accuses good-naturedly, seeing through the feigned irritation of the other woman. In a stunning display of maturity, Hadley replies by sticking out her tongue, earning a laugh and a shove toward the door from the smaller doctor. "Come on, let's go," she chuckles, following the taller woman into the hallway.

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**The Next Morning**

After Foreman found that Dana scratched a hole through her skull, Taub, the ever-handy plastic surgeon, stepped in to repair the damage.

"The good news is that I was able to close the wound up and she suffered no brain damage. But," Taub draws out the word, pausing for dramatic effect. "She says that it still itches," he updates them, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

House contemplates this for a moment. "But one's brain can't actually be itchy, which means that she only _**thinks **_it is," he says, mostly to himself, thinking out loud.

"So, the problem's in her brain," Taub points out, though mostly for clarification and sounding more like a question than anything.

"Thank god we have you here to interpret that for us," Hadley snaps at the shorter doctor. This draws everyone's attention to her. "Sorry. Headache," she apologizes quietly to her colleague. The group nod in understanding and House takes this moment to throw back some Vicodin.

"So, let's run the patient through the MRI and see what's causing her to drill for oil in her skull," House snarks before the team exits the room. He pays close attention to Foreman and Thirteen's interaction once they leave the office.

Foreman takes a light hold Hadley's forearm to get her to stop and talk to him. She turns towards him with a scowl on her face, pulling her arm out of his light grip. "What?" She barks at him, making it cleat that she would like for the older man to make this quick.

"I think we really need to talk about your headaches since they're getting worse even though you're off the drug," he quietly explains, hoping not to be overheard.

"Well, _**I **_think that we really have nothing to talk about and that you need to leave me the hell alone Eric," the brunette informs him in a cool, calm voice. "I don't want to talk to you unless it deals with a patient and I want you to stop trying to meddle in my life," she adds, just to be clear.

"I was only trying to help. I thought-"

"I know what you thought and I also know that I told you, implicitly and explicitly, that it was never going to happen. This sealed it. And, for the record, I don't need your kind of help if this is how it's going to turn out."

"Look, I get that you're upset with me, but I think you should get an MRI just to make sure everything is okay," he attempts to reason as she pulls out the bottle of codeine painkillers.

"No, I just need to maintain until the symptoms disappear," she replies, dry swallowing four of the pills à la House.

Foreman takes a surreptitious glance at the bottle. "You're taking twice the recommended dose, Remy," he points out.

"I don't think this is about my headaches so much as it is you being pissed off that I'm blowing you off. Grow up Eric," she scowls before finally turning to walk away.

"And I think that when it comes to your health, you always manage to keep yourself in an unhealthy amount of denial," the older doctor retorts. Thirteen simply ignores him and starts to leave. "Don't be selfish. Just get the MRI…for Cameron and Alexis," he attempts to guilt trip her.

Remy's steps falter and her shoulders sag. She turns to face the other man with fire in her eyes. "That was a cheap shot," she informs him bitterly and Foreman knows he won this round.

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**MRI Room**

The dark-skinned man can't help but feel the need to explain himself to the woman he's been pursuing for months. He hesitates a moment, his finger over the intercom button.

"I'm sorry. I was only trying to help," Foreman announces to the brunette. Silence. "I never wanted to hurt you or Cameron, but I know what I did was selfish and wrong," he adds on.

"Now's really not the time to chit-chit considering I'm not supposed to move," Thirteen gripes, not wanting to hear it anymore.

"Right. Sorry," the other man grumbles his apology and Remy sighs in relief in the MRI machine.

As the view on his screen changes and updates itself, Foreman finds himself sitting up straighter and staring at the screen, wide-eyed. His gaze shifts a moment from the results appearing on the monitor and the clueless woman impatiently getting scanned.

"Oh god," he whispers to himself in shock and disbelief.

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**An Hour Later**

Allison exits the Diagnostic's Office with a bewildered look on her face. All she wanted was find her girlfriend to see if she wanted to have lunch with her, but Remy is nowhere to be seen. However, in her quest to find the missing brunette, she comes across one of the few people that may know…but one of the last people she wants to speak to.

"Foreman," the blonde attempts to get his attention, more than a little concerned at the urgent way the other man is pounding on the down button and holding his coat as though he's leaving somewhere.

The older man turns to her with the sigh that only comes with knowing that pressing the button forty times doesn't make the elevator move any faster. "I am really not in the mood to have you get pissed off at me again, so could you just pretend that I'm not here?" He almost pleads.

As much as Cameron wishes that she could do that, her very nature doesn't allow her to let it just die. "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but what's wrong?" She questions her former teammate.

"You don't want to know," he warns her, knowing the small woman's wrath would follow.

"It's something to do with Remy, isn't it?" She asks, knowing that's the only thing that would explain his unwillingness to disclose that information.

With that, the other man drops onto the bench by the elevator. "I ran an MRI on her a little while ago," he confesses.

Cameron feels her heart rise into her throat. "And?" She prompts.

"She has a tumor in her optic chiasm," Eric quickly states.

"Does she know?" Allison wonders, her anger at the situation being held back admirably.

"No, not yet. I'm going down to the drug company to come clean and got through patient files to see if random tumors were side effects for anyone else and, if so, how they were treated," he informs the blonde, just as the elevator dings. He stands and goes to it.

"This isn't something you should be hiding from her right now, Eric," the ER doctor states, irritation seeping into her tone. "Where is she right now?"

"I told her to go home because of her headache and that I would explain to House why she left," Foreman says as he steps into the elevator and hits the button for the first floor.

Releasing something of a cross between a groan and a sigh. She sticks the patient file she's holding in between the doors to keep them from closing. "You need to think about this before throwing your medical career away and playing the martyr," she lectures him as she gets into the elevator as well

"What makes you think I haven't thought this through?" Foreman snaps at the small blonde.

"Because the Huntington's drug inhibits cell death and the tumor will shrink on it's own…if you're patient," she explains

"And if not?" Foreman snorts, his resolve already weakening.

"Then she's going to need you to still have your medical license."

At this, the dark-skinned doctor turns his head to stare incredulously at the woman beside him. "You mean you wouldn't…" he doesn't even know how to finish his question and if the blonde really wouldn't be there to help her girlfriend.

"I _**would**_, but I shouldn't have to. This is _**your **_mess Eric and I'm not going to clean it up for you," she growls at him, jabbing him in the chest with her index finger as the elevator reaches it's destination and the doors open. Allison steps out, leaving Foreman with a lot to think about.

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**5:45 pm**

It's not that Allison minds picking up Alexis, because she doesn't. She just would have liked her girlfriend to have told her that she wasn't able to pick the little girl up herself instead of having Robert call her up to ask why Remy hadn't been by yet.

"Is everything okay Ally?" The astute eight year old wonders as she notices the pensive look on the blonde's face as they arrive at the apartment building.

"Of course, Lexi. Just a long day is all," the ER doctor lies through her teeth as they get out and make their way to the elevator.

The ride up is made in silence as the pair remain lost in their own world. Once the pair walk through the door, they are greeted by a darkened apartment and eerie silence.

"Rem?" Allison calls out cautiously as they step in.

"Ally, is that you?" A voice questions from the couch, a touch of fear creeping into the tone.

"Yeah, Babe," she replies, a feeling of dread creeping its way under her skin as

Alexis runs around to the other side to greet her mother, but stops short. "Are you okay?" The girl wonders with concern as she sees the blank look on Hadley's face and the blood drying on her lower leg.

"What happened to you leg, Sweetie?" Allison gently asks as she kneels in front of the other woman.

"I tripped over the table," Remy explains briefly, never moving her eyes off of the far wall.

"How did you-"

The blonde is silenced by her girlfriend taking one of her hands in a tight grip and leaning down to her face. "Allison, I can't see," she quietly confesses so as not to scare her daughter.

Cameron takes in a sharp breath of surprise and concern. "Hey Lexi. How would you like to stay the night at Grandpa Rob's tonight?" She asks the younger brunette.

Alexis narrows her eyes in suspicion, but she knows that now's not the time to ask. "Okay. Let me go pack something for tomorrow," she slowly answers.

Allison turns to give her a reassuring and relieved smile, grateful for her not being required to play 20 Questions just now. She stands up and pulls out her cell phone, releasing her girlfriend's hand to do so.

"What are you doing? Don't go!" Remy blurts in a panic, reaching out and swiping her hand through thin air in a desperate attempt to regain the soothing contact of her lover.

Feeling her heart ache for the other woman, Cameron takes a seat next to the brunette, moving over so they're sitting thigh-to-thigh. She encourages Remy to lean her head on her shoulder, which she does. The taller woman wraps an arm around the ER doctor's waist, glad for the comfort.

"It's okay, Rems. I'm going to fix this," she promises the younger doctor quietly as she scrolls through the contacts list on her phone and finds the one she hasn't needed in quite some time.

"I love you, Allison," Hadley whispers.

"I love you too, Remy," the blonde replies, a small smile gracing her lips, despite the situation. After hitting send, the phone rings just once before the person on the other end picks up. "Foreman?…It's Cameron. We have a problem…"

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I know, I know. It's been a little while since my last update (again), but once again, things began to escape my control and I was unable to get to a lot of things. However, this was quicker than last time at least, but I hope the wait was worth it. Thankfully, this episode's story arch will be finished up in the next chapter.

Let me just say that I think the last chapter was the most reviewed chapter so far for this story.

**CdnGirl01** - I'm pleased to hear how happy you were that I finally updated and that it was a decent update to boot. Unfortunately, drama is my forte and I am a big fan of writing it. Hopefully this chapter resolved some of your fears about the fate of our favorite docs. Even if I write Foreman out, he will not be completely out of the picture and he will still have a lot to deal with, but I won't be focusing on him or writing him much, if at all. No matter what happens, he won't be getting a free pass and he'll have to actually deal with the consequences of his actions. There will also always be an option to add him back in, no matter what. It's not like I'm killing him off ;)

**Heimdall** - Well, thanks for telling me that I was full of awesome. I can't complain about hearing that. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed _**Taking a Chance**_ and you liked my spin on Thirteen's background. Also, I'm happy to see that you are liking the sequel as well. I also liked rewriting the opening scene with Cameron instead of Foreman in bed with Thirteen. I think it worked better…but maybe I'm biased. Your standpoint on Foreman's future is duly noted and I agree with it being unrealistic that he wasn't, at the very least, fired because of his breach of protocol.

**impeccableblahs **- Wow, I'm glad you like it so much and hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint with the Foreman/Cameron scene.

So, most people seem to be content with either leaving the decision up to me or only getting rid of Foreman if I can do it in a way that is realistic and not tacky or anything like that. I have a good idea as to how I'll be doing this story if he leaves and it will be a good alternative to how the Chase/Cameron storyline played out with their engagement and subsequent marriage. Chase will be popping up again in this story, but he won't be a direct threat to the Camteen relationship.


	19. Truth and Consequences

**Spoilers!**: _The Greater Good_…the rest of it.

**A/N**: I got to cut out a lot of stuff from the original episode thanks to the fact that there was so much Foreteen material that was unnecessary for the Camteen take on it.

**A/N2**: Yes, it's an actual update. It's about time, huh? ;)

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen- Truth and Consequences**

House limps into the darkened Diagnostics Office and finds Foreman finishing up on his cell phone. Once the younger doctor closes his phone, House notes the way he slumps into his seat and releases a deep breath, the conversation he just had taking its toll.

"Do you believe me now about Thirteen having an adverse reaction to the drug?" The older man smugly questions, knowing the kicked puppy look on his employee's face could only mean a problem with a certain brunette Fellow.

After jolting slightly in surprise at his boss' presence, Foreman replies, "I just found out."

"How could you have just found out? I told you yesterday!" House snaps, thinking they're still simply referring to the other woman's eyesight.

"You don't know?" The taller man is taken aback enough to let his surprise show over the omniscient Dr. Gregory House not actually know something before everyone else. The confused look gives him his answer. "She has a tumor in her optic chiasm. Cameron and I thought the tumor would shrink on its own if Thirteen stopped taking the drug."

"Judging by the 'Cameron is going to kill me' look on your oh-so-expressive face, the tumor is still there," the more experienced doctor notes critically.

"She's blind, House," Foreman admits, knowing that if he didn't tell the other man all of this now, then he'd still find out about it later.

If the misanthropic doctor is at all surprised, it doesn't show. He simply takes a moment to digest this new information. "What are you going to do?"

"Cameron's bringing Remy to the hospital. She said for me to get Chase and meet her in the clinic…and to keep you out of this at all costs," Foreman adds the last part with a wry tone.

"Good luck getting Chase down here now," the older diagnostician snorts in amusement.

"What do you mean? I thought he was in the OR tonight."

"Nope. 'Date night' with his girlfriend," he doesn't bother hiding his disgust at the idea.

"I didn't know he was seeing anyone. How-"

"Hello! Thirteen still has a tumor in her brain! Do you want me to help you or not?" House snaps in an attempt to get the conversation back on track.

"Why would you offer to help?" A rightfully suspicious Foreman wonders.

"For the good of humanity," is the sarcastic reply, followed by the other man's unmoved expression. "And to rub in the epic failing of your good intentions, but I thought that went without saying," he smirks.

_Of course_. Foreman sighs to himself. "Should we call Cuddy to approve the radiation treatment?" A blank stare. "Or call one of the anesthesiologist's from-"

"I'm going to be there. That's enough," House states before turning and heading out of the office. "Come on Sunshine. Time to face the object of your grossly unrequited affection…and her girlfriend," he throws over his shoulder, prompting Foreman to reluctantly stand up and follow.

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later**

Allison carefully guides her girlfriend through the entrance of PPTH. She has a firm grip on Remy's hand and the other woman has the additional support of having her free hand holding on to the blonde's wrist as well. Remy doesn't want to let go, but she also doesn't want her current affliction to be obvious to anyone else either. She's too scared to say anything. Once the pair reach the clinic, Allison stops walking abruptly, almost causing her girlfriend to run into her.

"What the hell, Ally?" Hadley grunts.

"What the _**hell **_are you doing here?" The shorter woman asks in shock and irritation.

"I'm just here to help is all," House grins and Thirteen finds herself wanting to crawl into a hole.

"Yeah right, House. Whatever it is you want to say, just say it already so we can take care of Remy," she sighs in annoyance.

"If you're going to kick Foreman's ass can you let me get my phone so I can tape it and put it on YouTube?" He asks, a grin forming at the prospect.

"Where's Chase?" Cameron instead questions the other doctor, who's remained silent until this point.

"Date night with his girlfriend," is the immediate reply, Foreman is hoping to get some idea as to whether or not the other woman has been keeping in contact with her ex-boyfriend.

"Shit, that's right," the blonde sighs out in realization. "Fine, let's just do this House," she says, acknowledging that her former boss is her next best choice. She doesn't want to risk going to Cuddy with this.

Without a word, House just smirks slightly before turning and heading down to the room where he and Foreman are intending to do the radiation on the blind doctor. The other three follow him down the hall, Cameron walking side-by-side with her terrified girlfriend.

* * *

Having taken turns scrubbing in, House and Foreman are ready to anesthetize Remy and perform the procedure. Hearing the sink behind them begin running, House turns his head and sees the other woman preparing to scrub in as well.

"What do you think you're doing?" The older man barks sharply, causing the woman on the operating table to jump at the sharpness of his tone. He resists the urge to turn and check on his sole female fellow to make sure she's okay.

"I'm getting ready," the blonde replies in an obvious tone.

"Like hell you are," House retorts sternly.

"House!" Foreman snaps at his boss. "What's the big deal?" He asks when he's sure he has his attention.

"When was the last time the friend, relative, or sex puppet of a patient stood around in the operating room during a procedure?" Is the snarky response that silences the other doctors.

Despite his wording, Allison knows that her former boss has a point. "Fine," she grumbles dejectedly before reluctantly making for the door.

"Wait!" Remy calls out as soon as she hears the door open. The other three doctors turn to the woman who, up until now, has barely uttered a word since stepping inside the hospital. She sits up and turns her head in a futile attempt to locate her girlfriend.

"Rem, what's wrong?" Cameron asks, the concern evident in her tone, as she moves to her girlfriend's side and places a hand on Remy's arm.

More at ease now that she knows where the blonde is, Remy turns to face where she thinks House is standing. "Can she at least stay until I'm unconscious?" The brunette pleas, her voice thick with fear and insecurity.

After a moment of deliberation, the diagnostician rolls his eyes and blows out a sigh. "Fine," he groans while his blasé attitude belies how affected he is by the scene unfolding before him. "But once she's under, you're out of here," he agrees, his attention focused on the blonde doctor.

Twenty minutes later the blonde grudgingly releases the limp hand of her girlfriend. She looks over at the two men and feels as though she should say something yet finds herself at a loss for words.

"Could you just…" Allison trails off as she glances back down at the unconscious woman on the bed. "Just take care of her. Please," she states, her gaze pointedly settled on Foreman as she does so.

Not bothering to waste anyone's time, or patience, with an ineffectual promise to do his best, Foreman instead replies, "I will." He knows full well that he needs to assure his former coworker and not give her a wishy-washy response. Cameron nods her head solemnly before making her way out of the room to camp outside the door until it's over.

House watches the other man for a moment with interest. "I feel terrible about this whole thing," the dark-skinned man announces quietly so that the blonde, presumably, listening on the other side of the door doesn't hear him.

The senior doctor's look of interest turns into one of incredulity. "You didn't consider that this could be a possible outcome of switching the drugs?" He asks neutrally. Foreman's silence is answer enough for him. "Well, you really thought this plan of yours through, didn't you Skippy?" House snarks, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

"I thought that I was just putting my career at risk. It never occurred to me that I was risking her health instead," he ruminates.

With a humorless laugh, House shakes his head at the other man. "Ironic that the whole reason you did this was because you love Thirteen, but not once did you ever take her health into consideration," he expresses, bitter disbelief dripping from every word.

Having no reasonable excuse or explanation for the gaping flaws in his plans, Foreman doesn't bother replying. He instead keeps his mouth shut and commences with the procedure while trying to ignore the fact that his boss is silently seething in front of him.

* * *

**The Next Morning - 9:15 am**

Allison is sitting on the left side of her girlfriend's hospital bed, holding her girlfriend's left hand and her thumb rubbing the back of her hand in what she hopes is a comforting manner. The blonde is looking a little worse for the wear, not having slept since the night before her girlfriend lost her sight. With her other arm on the bed, bent at the elbow, she uses the free hand to prop her head up so she can simultaneously watch the door and look over her girlfriend. She finds herself drifting off to sleep.

With an abrupt thud, the door to the room closes and Allison's head slides off her hand in shock as the brunette jumps, suddenly very much awake. Cameron shoots a glare at the intruder, a sheepish looking Kutner.

"Sorry. House told me what happened. I didn't mean to scare you," Kutner apologizes, his tone distracted as he takes in the wide-eyed, yet blank stare of his female coworker. He never would have believed that Thirteen had gone blind if he hadn't seen for himself.

"It's okay," the blonde sighs, her voice dissolving into a yawn mid-sentence.

"Is she gonna be alright?" He asks, directing his question to the ER doctor.

"I'm blind, not deaf," Remy growls in irritation, tired of people talking about her like she isn't in the room.

"Sorry," the other man apologizes once more.

However, anyone can say anything else, the door opens once more and Eric Foreman enters the room. The room noticeably seems to drop about ten degrees do to the icy chill of the glare Allison shoots him. He looks uncomfortable.

"How is she?" He asks, ignoring the inquisitive look of the younger man.

"Still blind," Allison informs him brusquely.

"Have you thought about going to the drug company?" Kutner dumbly asks, as if it never occurred to anyone to inform the company about the possibility of tumors and/or blindness until this point.

Cutting off any smartass or self-pitying reply from either of the others, Remy's the one that pipes in. "I think we should give the radiation more time to work," she states simply.

"I don't think it's a good idea to give the tumor time to grow and possibly affect something else in your brain," Kutner protests.

"Well, I think that Foreman paying with his career is him still getting off too easy," Allison chimes in, her tone doing nothing to conceal her resentment.

"You're just saying that because it's what House thinks," Foreman accuses.

"Does that make it any less true?" Hadley snaps rhetorically.

"This isn't about what _**you**_ want Thirteen," Kutner interrupts. "You didn't get a say when Dr. Foreman switched the drug so you shouldn't get to decide what he decides to do now that it blew up in his face. It's only fair that he makes this decision on his own too to see if he understands the scope of what happened," he elaborates. "The only reason why he's letting you dictate what he does next is because he doesn't want to lose his medical license." Foreman's eyebrows raise ever so slightly at the younger doctor's surprising insight.

"Well, him destroying his career isn't going to bring back her sight so it doesn't matter what he decides to do," Allison argues, the situation combined with fatigue putting her in a foul mood.

* * *

**2:00 pm**

House strolls into the locker room to find Foreman hunched over on a bench with his head in his hands.

"You told Dr. Hayworth about the tumor, didn't you?" The older man questions, already knowing the answer. Foreman just barely looks up, looking devastated with his tie undone and limply hanging around his neck and his charcoal gray suit wrinkled from his slumped position. House groans at the confirmation of his suspicions. "What'd they do, revoke your license?" He wonders, immediately beginning to mentally run through other candidates for the position.

"There's going to be an investigation as to whether or not I should be allowed to keep my license. My license is suspended until then," he states, still in shock.

"Great!" House sarcastically exclaims.

Eric shakes his head at himself. "I should've listened to you," he admits even though it pains him to do so.

"Well, I hope you learned your lesson," is the smug reply offered as House goes through one of the lockers briefly before shutting it and walking towards the exit. "Oh, by the way," he begins, pausing in the doorway, "Thirteen's sight started coming back about an hour ago," he offhandedly offers before leaving. It takes an additional twenty seconds before Foreman realizes that the locker House just took something from didn't belong to his boss.

* * *

**Saturday, the Next Morning – 7:15 am**

A shaft of light peaks through the bedroom shades and directly into Allison's eyes. She blinks them open, squinting at the unwelcome wake-up call only to glance to her left and see the soft gaze of her girlfriend settled on her.

"Morning," Remy smiles at the blonde.

"Good morning," Allison returns the expression, waves of relief washing over her at the confirmation that the other woman really is okay now.

Hadley carefully reaches over and tucks a stray lock of hair off the slightly older woman's face, a fond smile etched into her features. "You snore," she says in a tone not unlike the one a person would usually reserve for confessing their undying love for another.

At this, Cameron snorts in amusement and gently shoves the brunette. "Shut up, I do not," she protests.

"Uh huh," Remy grins.

"Nuh uh," Allison eloquently counters. The other woman decides to use the logic of sticking out her tongue to prove her point. A brief, but affectionate, kiss ends the non-argument definitively.

Before anything else can be said between the couple, the door none-too-subtly creaks open. The bed-headed figure of a certain eight year old girl creeps toward the bed containing two figures that mutually decided to pretend to be asleep once they heard the door. Without warning, the girl pounces on the bed in hopes of startling the two adults awake, ignorant of the drama that they faced less than 48 hours prior to this moment. Alexis, however, is the one that receives the scare when Allison and her mom gang up and tickle her.

Once the little girl manages to escape the assault, she wisely keeps out of reach. "So, what are we doing today?" She innocently wonders, proving that things really could go back to normal after all.

* * *

Okay, _The Greater Good_ is finally done with and we can all move on…heh. No, this story isn't over or abandoned. I've been trying to finish this chapter for ages and I finally finished it in time to post it several days before my birthday. So, consider this my un-birthday gift to you. Let me just note that I am going to try to fix the format of the prvious chapters since FF decided to change it, but it'll take some time to do so.

I realize that it's taken me nearly seven months to get this written and posted and for those of you that have been patient and stuck with it, thank you. Let me also take this opportunity to thank any and all new readers, especially those who have decided to give this a chance after putting off reading it for however long (you know who you are).

In my defense, it has been an extremely eventful seven months on my end of things. Let's see if I can offer a helpful, yet still vague recap: DUI, detox, therapy, AA, Thanksgiving from Hell, relapse, Christmas, loads of drama, getting suspended from work, more drama, detox (again), my best friend finding out his wife is pregnant (which was quite the good news), and me being asked to be the godmother. Oh, and my girlfriend asked me to marry her three days before our one-year anniversary (which was exactly two weeks ago today)…and I said yes, so I am now engaged too. As for all of that other stuff, I won't specify who all in my life went through it…obviously with the exception of my friend's wife being pregnant and me being the godmother, of course. It doesn't matter who, just that it's over with.

I would like to tell you that I'll update soon, but I honestly don't know. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Personally I'm a little ambivalent about it because it seems like I rushed the beginning of the chapter all the way to the end. You can be the judge of that.


	20. Roll Over and Play Dead

**Spoilers!**: First half of _Unfaithful_.

**A/N**: Yes, I know it's been ages, but life tends to get in the way. Hopefully the length partially makes up for it and the chapter isn't a total disappointment.

**A/N2**: I felt like I could do more with this episode than _The Softer Side_ and I needed at least one between the end of _The Greater Good_ and _Simple Explanation_.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty- Roll Over and Play Dead**

**Four Days Later, Wednesday – 9:00 am**

Remy sits patiently in the Diagnostics Office reading over an article in the _New York Times _with a subtle and thoughtful smile on her face as she sips her coffee.

"Isn't this just the idyllic picture of domestic bliss?" A sarcastic voice takes note from the doorway.

The brunette looks up at the owner of the aforementioned voice and arches a brow at his intrusion. "You're here early," is all she says in response, folding the paper and setting it down with the article she was reading face down on the table. She obviously won't be reading anymore with her boss in the room.

House brushes it off as he makes his way into the office and approaches the table, glad that his youngest employee seems to have been able to properly recuperate and is relaxed. Not that he'd ever tell that to her face or anything.

"You're reading yesterday's paper," he points out, nothing in his tone to indicate what he's thinking.

Dropping her gaze briefly onto the open page of the newspaper, she nods. "So it is," she returns with a Mona Lisa smile, her expression not giving anything away.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, House takes his cane and maneuvers it to lift up the edge of the paper to see what had held her with such rapt attention. She sits with her hands folded together calmly on the top of the table, making no move to stop his intrusiveness. Scanning the page for a moment, he finds nothing remarkable. Several pieces on hot-button issues that, quite frankly, House couldn't care less about. Then he spots it, in the center of the page…hidden in plain sight.

"'Robert Hadley, Contributing Columnist and Investigative Journalist'," the older doctor reads from the byline under the featured article. "So, you're sainted father is writer?" He comments, clearly not actually caring about the answer.

For her part, Remy frowns at the verbiage used by her boss. Words like 'saint' and its derivatives or 'father', which is almost too formal for the other man, are uncommon from House. "Do we have a patient?" She suspiciously asks him. However, before House can reply, the door opens once again as Taub enters and is followed by Kutner.

"Welcome back!" The goofy doctor greets his coworker warmly, happy to see her functioning as well as she is compared to the last time he saw her. Then, the door swings open once more and Thirteen stiffens.

"What is _**he **_still doing here?" She questions darkly and no one is willing to answer right away. "Didn't you lose your license yet?"

"They're investigating the incident," Foreman tentatively replies. He knew that he was on thin enough ice and, with the dark-haired woman returning to work today, that things could potentially get, well, hostile.

Thirteen opens her mouth but her response is cut off by the sound of her pager. Her brow scrunches in confusion as she pulls it out, hoping that her daughter isn't sick again. She relaxes upon seeing the message but she still huffs out a breath of frustration as she rises out of her chair, making sure to fold up her newspaper and bring it with her.

"Where do you think _**you're **_going?" House questions haughtily, pretending to be appalled that she has the audacity to behave as though something is more important than her current task consisting of…doing nothing.

"What's it to you? It's not like we have a case or anything," Hadley smirks half-heartedly on her way out the door, easily seeing through her boss' tone.

"Want me to follow her?" Foreman offers, deciding that volunteering to something that House would undoubtedly ask one of them to do is better than enduring another day of his boss' scrutiny.

"I think you've stalked her enough," the older doctor quips.

"I can-"

"I know where she's going," House cuts off Kutner's attempt at brown-nosing, saving him the trouble of finishing his sentence.

* * *

**Upstairs**

Tidying up the haphazard stack of paperwork to be signed off on, Dr. Branum glances expectantly at her office door, waiting for the inevitable tentative knock. However, though anticipating it, the sound still startles her when it comes.

"Come in," she calls and, as predicted, a sheepish Remy Hadley opens the door and steps in the room, softly clicking it closed behind her.

"Sorry," the young woman apologizes.

The older doctor smiles warmly at the Fellow. "You've been a busy girl lately so I figured that you'd forget about our appointment this morning," she assures her kindly.

"I take it Allison told you," Remy states as a fact, already anticipating the answer.

"Actually, Dr. House called me Friday morning after the surgery," she corrects her.

"Oh," Hadley doesn't bother to hide her surprise. "I wasn't aware that he knew that I was seeing you."

"Neither was I. If what I've heard of him holds any truth then I'm sure he went through your file or something of that nature seeing as how I strongly doubt that Dr. Cameron or Dr. Cuddy said anything," the psychiatrist says, her tone neutral.

"I see," Remy acknowledges, more for something to say than anything else. Finding herself with nothing more to add, she looks around the office in search of anything that might pique her interest. It's a futile act on her part.

"You know, Remy, you can only get out of therapy what you put into it."

Hadley tries not to cringe at the other woman's casual use of her first name. "Well, _**Amy**_, it wasn't really my choice to come here, was it?" Is the defensive reply, the therapist's first name emphasized with the young brunette's irritation.

"Dr. Cuddy was only concerned. You had a lot going on at the time so it's only natural that she and Dr. Cameron were worried about your frame of mind as well as your well-being," Amy reasons.

"But I think we've established that I'm not going to kill myself so I'm fairly certain that these visits are unnecessary," Remy counters, not bothering to suppress the sneer in her tone.

"Have we?"

"What?" She asks, confused as to what the therapist is referring to now.

"_**Have**_ _**we**_ established that you're not going to kill yourself?" Dr. Branum elaborates her question. "You seem better now than you were after the hostage crisis, but what's to stop something else from coming up and making you re-evaluate your self-worth?"

"I have my father, Dr. Cameron, and my daughter," Remy grinds out. It never takes long for her to be reminded as to why therapy has never agreed with her.

Amy taps the capped end of her pen against her lips thoughtfully for a moment before leaning forward in her chair and folding her arms on her desk. "Did having parents, a significant other, and a daughter that she loved do anything to prevent Olivia or your mother from committing suicide?" She asks, her question rhetorical…for the most part.

Her jaw clenching, Hadley grips the arms of her chair until her knuckles turn white as she fights every urge to slap the other woman. "I'm not them," she simply replies, her tone tight and controlled, but her eyes burning with anger.

The other doctor keeps her gaze firmly locked with Remy's, not in a challenging manner, but more out of confidence in how she's reading the younger woman. "Perhaps," she responds after a moment, but not in a way that agrees or disagrees with the angry brunette.

"You didn't know them so how can you say that I'm the same as them?" Remy snaps. Dr. Branum raises an unimpressed brow at the outburst. "Whatever," she grumbles, standing up and making her way to the door.

"You know why you hate therapy so much, Dr. Hadley?" The older woman questions from behind her desk. Remy's back tenses, but she doesn't bother to turn around or respond, which is taken to be a cue to continue. "You prefer to be mysterious to others because that lets you be in control. Being mysterious lets you read other people and keeps them from being able to read you. If they can't read you, they can't judge you. What is it that you're afraid they'll see?"

Remy is quiet for a moment before she releases a tired sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about," is her final answer.

Amy nods to herself, the answer about what she expected from the other woman at this stage. "For the record, Dr. Hadley, their concern doesn't come from your mother's history or because of your diagnosis."

"Of course it doesn't," is the sarcastic reply.

"It comes from you holding so much in. You need an outlet for your negative emotions or else they'll keep building up and holding you down," Amy finishes, ignoring the outburst from the other doctor.

Hadley allows the words to sink in. "Are we done here?" She questions softly.

"For today," Dr. Branum nods, the action meaningless because of the younger woman's back still turned to her. With that, Remy is out the door and Amy is certain that, if nothing else, she got the younger woman considering what was said. A glance at her clock brings a smile to her face. "9:34, she lasted a whole ten minutes longer than she did last week."

* * *

**Meanwhile, in the ER**

Cameron approaches the Nurses' Station to pick up the next patient's file from the stack. She stops short upon seeing her former boss rifling through the files, torn between her usual annoyance at his presence and the need to be nice to him because of how much he helped Remy less than a week ago.

"Can I help you?" She asks neutrally, choosing to be neither accommodating or hostile.

"Just browsing, thanks. Happy to be underachieving again?" House questions, barely sparing her a glance upon her arrival.

"Running the ER is just slacker heaven," the blonde deadpans, rolling her eyes. "Looking for anything in particular?" She wonders, hoping to get rid of him now that she knows that he opted for reverting back to his usual jerky attitude.

"Not anymore," the older doctor announces with his unmistakably mischievous smirk as he flips through a file. "Where's this guy?" He questions, practically thrusting the file in the other woman's face.

"Why?" Is the understandably suspicious response.

House sighs in exaggerated exasperation. "'Cause he's my next patient. It'd be rude of me not to introduce myself."

Narrowing her eyes, Allison takes a closer look at the file. "He's a drunk priest who hallucinated Jesus," she states obviously.

"Afraid you might've missed something?" He taunts.

"Afraid you're wasting everyone's time?" She retorts. House merely arches a brow in response, earning a heavy sigh from the other woman. "It's obviously either alcohol or exhaustion."

"So you admit that you have no idea which," House declares dramatically, as if he just called her out on a monumental lie.

Cameron shakes her head, tired of playing this game with her former boss. "I admit that I'm too busy to care who you're screwing with," she informs him before taking one of the discarded files and walking away.

In a show of maturity - for House, anyways - he decides not to ask 'even if it was your girlfriend I was screwing with', no matter how tempting it may have been. "Don't thank me. Just knowing I can be of assistance is thanks enough," is instead his relatively tame reply.

* * *

**Later**

Thirteen's jaw is set as House holds her and Foreman behind to talk to them, affectionately referring to them as 'Foreteen' in the process.

"This department is broken," House begins as he takes a seat at the edge of the table. "And I'm not going to take a real case until it's fixed," he finishes.

"What are you getting at House?" Foreman asks warily.

"I'm glad you asked," the older man grins with false cheer. "Now, Foreman, if by some miracle you get to keep your medical license, I can't very well keep you on my team, working side-by-side with the very woman you tried to kill, can I? _**That **_would be irresponsible," he explains, his lips twitching near the end from the effort being used to keep from smirking at the pair.

"So, one of us has to quit," Hadley slowly states in a questioning tone.

"That's a fantastic idea!" House beams sarcastically, earning an eye roll from the brunette. "So, you two can discuss it and come to a decision…out of view from our benevolent ER doctor, of course," he exaggerates a wink in the direction of his female Fellow.

"Cameron? Why?" Foreman asks in confusion.

"So she wouldn't get jealous of course!" House exclaims, giddy over the impending blowout from Thirteen and Foreman's already volatile relationship. "So, go ahead and get on with it. You have until the end of this fake case to make a decision," he informs them seriously. The pair share a look before exiting the room.

"So…" Foreman trails off awkwardly as they head down the hallway and out of House's sight.

Once they reach the elevator Remy hits the down button before turning to the other doctor, her expression shockingly fierce considering how calm she'd been up to this point.

"We have nothing to discuss because you went behind my back and nearly cost me my life," she hisses at the taller doctor. "_**If **_- and that's a _**very **_big 'if' - you don't lose your license, there is no way in hell I am going to quit," she informs him with barely controlled anger, her rant coming to an end as the elevator doors open up. "I don't owe you anything Foreman," she adds, her voice back to being preternaturally calm before she steps into the elevator.

The other man stands in the hallway stunned by her vehemence. He searches for something to say as she pushes the button for the first floor and she stares blankly at him until the elevator's short delay times out and the doors close. Foreman stands alone and staring at the shiny metal doors, torn between acceptance because of how the situation is his fault to begin with and anger over the other woman making the decision for him without even bothering to consult him on the matter. With a sigh, he presses the down button again and waits for another elevator to come.

* * *

**2:15 pm**

"So," House grins from behind his desk at the two doctors in front of him. "The priest is being discharged as we speak. This case is over. Your decision?" He questions them eagerly, leaving out the part about the priest not believing in god and how he molested a teenage boy. Allegedly.

Foreman glances at Thirteen for a moment, not quite ready for this decision to be made. He opens his mouth before closing it again.

"Foreman's quitting," Hadley states, not bothering to look at her, now, _**former **_colleague.

House looks between the pair and notices their postures and expressions. "Interesting," he states thoughtfully.

Turning his attention from the doctor beside him, Foreman narrows his eyes at the man in front of him. "I don't think it's fair for me to automatically be the one to roll over and play dead," he argues.

At this, Remy finally turns to look at him, albeit in utter disbelief. "How is this _**not **_fair? Your selfishness gave me a tumor and could have killed me or, at the very least, left me blind," she barks at him.

"So, I don't get any say in this? We never even discussed it. You just decided for us both that I should be the one to leave," the dark-skinned doctor snaps back at her, tired of being kicked around by her, House, the rest of the team, and Cameron.

"You know why I decided that?" The brunette asks rhetorically as she gets into his personal space. "Because there's no reason for me to have to quit since I didn't do anything wrong. _**You **_did," she elaborates, punctuating the word 'you' by angrily poking him in the chest with an accusatory index finger.

House watches them go at it as though he was watching a tennis match.

"Come on House," Foreman growls at his boss as soon as Thirteen finishes her tirade. "Isn't this about the time you admit that this was another one of your games? That you just wanted to see-"

"You're fired," the older man seriously cuts him off.

"How long are you going to keep this up? I know you're not-"

"Wrong. Again. In fact, in the last few weeks it's hard to remember a correct call you made," House interrupts.

"Wait. I can't believe you're taking Thirteen's side like this," Foreman protests.

"I don't take sides. If Thirteen had compromised her professional judgment to help Cameron, I'd have fired her ass too," he points out easily.

The other man seems stricken by this. "But, when my mistake blew up, you did everything you could to try and keep me from going to the drug company," he argues weakly, leaving it unspoken as to how he also helped with undoing the damage done to Thirteen.

"Yes, but you went to them anyways. I was trying to save your license, not your job. So, badge," House says, holding out his hand expectantly.

Foreman narrows his eyes at his _**former**_ boss. "Fine," he barks out resentfully, tossing his badge on the desk and stalking out, not bothering to spare Hadley another glance on his way.

For her part, Remy just stares at her boss, not quite believing everything that just happened. She almost wants to thank House, but she is certain that it wasn't done for her benefit…not entirely anyways.

"So," House draws out after placing Foreman's badge in the top drawer of his desk. "Why don't you pay your girlfriend a visit and see if you can find us a real case?" He questions, his tone sarcastic but still significantly softer than is typical for him. Remy just nods mutely and leaves.

* * *

**Diagnostics Office - An Hour Later**

House is staring at the jar holding the priest's toe, only Taub and Kutner are in the office with him. "Must be my lucky day. New symptom means the old symptom was a real symptom, and I get to keep our pederast priest after all," the older man muses to himself.

"Where are Foreman and Thirteen?" Kutner wonders, not paying much mind to the patient's problems.

"They left," House informs him idly. "Leprosy can cause necrosis and hallucinations," he then states, getting back to the point. He tosses the specimen cup containing the toe over to Taub before writing 'necrosis' on the whiteboard.

"Why would they leave?" Taub can't help but ask, despite himself.

"Well, Foreman doesn't work here anymore and Thirteen is hiding in her girlfriend's office. Don't worry, she'll be back," House informs them. "Leprosy's a bad fit," he changes his mind.

"Why'd you fire Foreman?" Kutner wonders, not willing to let the topic drop.

"One of them had to go and they couldn't agree so I picked for them. What about ergotism?"

"He gave up his career for her?" Taub asks incredulously.

"_**Nooo**_. He gave up _**this **_career for her," House rolls his eyes. "No, normal white blood count. Carbon monoxide poisoning?" He continues on, hoping that they get the hint and stop talking about Thirteen and Foreman.

"They're good doctors," Kutner unnecessarily points out.

House sighs and rubs his eyes as he turns to face the pair. "Separately, they're _**great **_doctors, better than you…but they can't work together because it turns them into morons," he says with finality, indicating the conversation is over. "Go check out the house that they would've checked had this been a real case. And page Thirteen, tell her to run the blood for CO. And get the priest in a hyperbaric chamber before anything else falls off," he directs, dismissing them both.

Taub and Kutner exit the office. "I'll go get Thirteen," Kutner offers before disappearing down the hall.

* * *

"So Foreman's gone, huh?" Cameron asks her girlfriend, still not quite believing that her former boss would just fire the other doctor like that.

"Yeah. He asked for Foreman's hospital ID and sent him packing," Remy confirms.

There's a knock on the door to the office, interrupting their brief conversation. Both women share a confused look. "Come in," Allison instructs the person on the other side of the door.

Kutner opens the door, stepping into the office, almost uncertainly and hoping that he isn't interrupting anything. "Hey," Remy greets her coworker, wondering what House is up to now.

"Daniel's still a patient. His toe fell off. Taub and I are going to the church to look for anything that might help," Kutner explains.

"Okay. What did House want me to do?" She asks, standing up and preparing to leave.

"Run the blood for CO. Taub's getting him into a hyperbaric chamber now."

Remy nods and turns towards Allison to offer her apologies. "Go work. It's fine," the blonde smiles in understanding.

Hadley grins and leans over the desk to give the other woman a brief kiss. "I'll see you at home," she promises.

"Have fun," Allison smirks, chuckling and shaking her head when Remy sticks her tongue out at her before closing the door behind her.

The dark-haired doctor finds Kutner waiting for her outside of the office, with a thoughtful smile on his face. They easily fall in step on their way to visit the patient before Kutner and Taub leave to go to the church. Remy can't help but notice how uncharacteristic this companionable silence is with the Indian doctor.

"You've been unusually quiet today," she says off-handedly.

"Have I?" He asks absently. It takes a moment of silence from his companion before he actually turns to look at the other doctor, a self-conscious smile on his face. "Sorry, I guess I just have a lot on my mind," he apologizes with a small amount of embarrassment coming through in his tone.

Remy furrows her brows in concern at this admission. "Is everything okay?" She questions her friend, not sure of the nature or the severity of the source of his distraction.

Kutner's uncomfortable smile settles into something more akin to his trademark mischievous smirk. "Xbox just isn't the same without my favorite co-op partner by my side," he shrugs nonchalantly, trying not to laugh as he does so.

Rolling her eyes and chuckling and the man-child next to her, Hadley opts to play along this once. "Now, when you say 'favorite', who are you referring to, Alexis or me?" She asks, an eyebrow quirked with feigned harshness.

"Well, considering the level of your wrath when you saw Alex playing videogames with me, I have to say that _**you're**_ my favorite. Not that this is just me sucking up out of self-preservation or anything," he quickly adds the last part, suppressing a shudder at the memory.

"Oh please! Kutner, come on, that had _**nothing**_ to do with the fact that you were playing videogames with my daughter. I was pissed you were playing _Left 4 Dead 2_ with my eight year old," Remy vehemently defends herself.

"Your eight year old that can kick some serious zombie ass," Kutner is quick to point out so as to get the other woman to see it as a compliment.

Judging by the look on Remy's face, she is less-than-impressed by his effort. "First off, they are 'infected' and _**not**_ zombies," she sighs in exasperation as though, as a doctor, he should have remembered that. "Secondly, I'm sorry that I, for some _**unfathomable reason**_," she emphasizes with ample sarcasm, "can't bring myself to be pleased by witnessing Alex hacking away at the hordes of attacking infected people with a chainsaw," she states reasonably, ignoring the curious – and concerned – expressions of those unfortunate enough to be around the duo at this point in their conversation.

"Yeah, but that's mostly because you prefer to pick them off in groups off by hurling Molotov cocktails at them," the other man grins.

"It makes more sense to not want to let them get that close to you because…" Remy trails off before shaking her head and sighing to herself. "Why are we even talking about this?" She questions, fighting back her smile at the absurdity of the conversation. "Besides, the point is that she had nightmares for two nights after playing that game," she informs him sternly.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he winces, sympathetic to his coworker's irritation over the incident.

Thirteen nods in acceptance to his apology. "So, I think we agree that if Lexi and I are coming over this weekend to waste several hours playing videogames while my girlfriend's at work, then it can't be anything that's going to traumatize her," she sternly states, doing a remarkable job of holding back her amusement.

The other doctor doesn't bother trying to hide his excitement as a grin threatens to split his face in half. "Would _Call of Duty_ be cool?" He questions, wracking his brain for any somewhat acceptable co-op games he might have.

Remy considers this for a moment. "Not ideal, but it's a little better. At least it's more exciting than _Wii Bowling_," she cringes.

Kutner regards the other woman thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, you're surprisingly good at kickass games for being such a pacifist," he notes with a smirk.

"Ha ha," Remy rolls her eyes good-naturedly as they reach the patient's room. "Go get to work," she jokingly dismisses him.

"See you later," Kutner smirks before turning and making his way down the hallway towards the exit where he's due to meet Taub.

* * *

**Cameron's Office – 15 minutes Later**

It took several minutes after her girlfriend left the office for Cameron to be able to shake off the other woman's presence enough for her to be able to motivate herself to start back in on her paperwork. Just as she was finally starting to get on a roll with it, she hears a knock on her door. With a sigh, she begins to resign herself to the fact that she's probably not going to get through it all today.

"Come in," the blonde calls out to the person on the other side, trying to keep her exasperation to herself. The door opens cautiously and Cuddy steps in, closing the door behind her. Allison immediately gives the other woman her attention, expecting there to be some kind of crisis in the ER or something of that nature. "Is everything okay?" She immediately asks.

"It's House," the older woman deadpans as she ungracefully drops into the seat in front of the other woman's desk.

"Oh," Cameron says, her sense of urgency greatly lessened. "What did he do this time?" She questions, wondering why Cuddy's choosing to speak to _**her**_ about it rather than Remy, her usual confidant.

"He's coming to Rachel's Simchat Bat on Friday," the older doctor sighs.

"You _**invited**_ him so shouldn't that be a good thing?" Allison asks with confusion.

At this Lisa breaks eye contact in an almost sheepish manner. "Not if I only invited him so that he'd think I wanted him there and he would say no," she rushes out.

It takes the blonde a moment to decipher what she just heard, but her eyes widen in shock once it does. "I can't believe you did that!" She blurts out impressed, but not admonishing the other woman for it.

Cuddy huffs out an irritated breath. "He said no at first, then Wilson opened his big mouth. House cornered me a few minutes ago and said he'd be there," she grumbles with annoyance.

"Maybe he'll actually behave himself for once," Allison offers, not nearly as hopeful of that as she sounds. Cuddy scoffs accordingly.

"Not with plenty of wine and people around for him to mock," the older woman points out. "I spoke to Wilson and told him to fix it…and to leave my name out of it when he does," she informs the blonde.

Cameron nods in understanding and the office lapses into a not-entirely-uncomfortable silence, though it's far from being a comfortable one. "Did you _**really**_ come all the way over to my office to tell me about House's latest drama?" She skeptically inquires.

Once again, the brunette dean averts her eyes. "Not entirely," she admits and Allison waits patiently for her to elaborate. "I didn't know how to approach Remy about this, or if I even _**should**_ to begin with," she begins. "Foreman came to me earlier asking for me to give him a letter of recommendation and I had to turn him down," she watches the blonde for a reaction and isn't disappointed.

"You _**should**_ have turned him down because he screwed up in every way imaginable and he put Remy's life at risk over it!" Allison is quick to agree with her boss' actions, her anger beginning to rise at the mention of the other man.

"There were more reasons, but that just about sums it up," Cuddy nods.

The ER doctor poises herself to go off on another tangent, but she refrains. "What did Foreman say when you turned him down?" She wonders suspiciously.

"Not much. He looked a little hurt and fairly angry. He stated that he couldn't get a decent position at another hospital without a recommendation and I apologized but told him that I had no choice. Then he left," Cuddy explains succinctly.

Cameron ponders this for a moment. "Why are you afraid to tell Remy this?" She asks softly.

Lisa recalls not using the word 'afraid' when she broached the topic, but she acknowledges that it isn't entirely inaccurate. "Because I know she's still livid over the ordeal and I don't want to upset her even more than she already is…especially considering how her therapy is going," she mumbles the last part mostly to herself.

"What do you mean?" A genuinely confused Allison asks.

"About what part?" Cuddy replies, hoping that it isn't about the therapy because she realized a moment too late that it wasn't something that she should've said.

"About how you didn't want to upset her because of her therapy. Remy said that things were going well," the blonde clarifies her initial question, suspecting that the other woman knows exactly what she had been asking.

With a sigh, Cuddy mentally kicks herself over the slip. "All I know is what her therapist has given me in her reports…which isn't a lot," is the carefully worded response. Allison folds her arms and leans back in her chair, her demeanor indicating her answer isn't good enough and that she needs to elaborate more. The older woman sighs in resignation to the fact that Cameron deserves a real answer, no matter how much trouble it might get her in with Hadley. "Apparently Remy is angry and defensive and she refuses to open up about anything," she hesitantly informs the ER doctor.

Cameron leans forward to rest her elbows on the desk and massage her temples to keep her impending headache at bay. For some reason, she isn't the least bit surprised by the news. "Thank you," she sincerely states, not looking up to meet her boss' gaze.

"I'm sorry Dr. Cameron," Lisa offers genuinely, not liking that she had to be the one to tell her about Remy's therapy.

The blonde waves it off as she looks up at the older woman. "Don't be. I'm glad you told me," she smiles weakly.

Sensing that the ER doctor needs her privacy, Cuddy stands up. "I'm sorry to have interrupted you Dr. Cameron. I'll let you get back to your work," she tries to sound as professional as possible as she dismisses herself from the other woman's office, earning an appreciative half-smile from the blonde. "So, can I still expect to see you and Remy on Friday at Rachel's Simchat Bat?" She finds herself asking, shattering the authoritative image she was trying to convey a moment ago.

"Only if you _**really**_ want us there," Allison jokes, smiling openly at the reference to the other woman's insincere invitation to House.

The dean shakes her head and chuckles at the blonde. "Of course I do," she replies.

"We'll be there then," she confirms, earning a small smile from the older doctor before she shuts the door. Allison's smile falters once left alone to ponder her girlfriend lying to her about therapy and whether it would be a good idea to bring up the topic of Foreman or not. She doesn't want to risk sending the other woman over the edge again so soon after things started getting better.

* * *

**Apartment – 8:45 pm**

Allison and Remy are sitting side by side in the living room watching television with a sleeping Alexis sprawled over both of their laps, with her head resting in Remy's. The blonde isn't paying the slightest attention to the television as she's too busy keeping an eye on her girlfriend idly running her fingers through her daughter's hair, not sure how, or _**if**_, to broach the topic of Remy's therapy.

"How's your patient?" She finds herself asking, internally cringing at the cop-out.

Remy's somewhat startled by the randomly asked question after nearly an hour of neither of them saying a word. "He's an atheist priest that had a heart attack that wasn't a heart attack and may or may not be a liar…so pretty much business as usual considering who I work for," she smirks at her girlfriend.

"Point taken," the blonde chuckles at the truth in the statement.

"House is convinced that he'd want to be best friends with Daniel if the man wasn't a pedophile," the brunette rolls her eyes in annoyance at her boss.

"A pedophile?" Allison blurts out, shocked at the revelation.

"Allegedly," Remy shrugs noncommittally.

"Do you think he is?" She questions, curious as to the younger doctor's perspective.

Remy considers the question for a moment. "I'd rather not put too much thought into it because it's not my job to judge our patients. If I did, then I might not try to save all of them if I didn't think they 'deserved' it and I'm in no position to say what someone does or doesn't deserve," she explains thoughtfully.

"Fair enough," the blonde nods before keeping her expectant gaze trained on the other woman, curious if she's even wondered about the patient.

Catching the look, Hadley sighs before she gives in to her girlfriend's silent request. "I don't think he'd be so angry at god as to completely lose his faith if he was guilty," she responds.

Allison simply nods absently at the logic of the other woman's explanation, her thoughts beginning to drift towards the _**real**_ question on her mind. "How did therapy go this morning?" She questions, carefully observing Remy as she does so.

The brief clenching of her jaw is the single telltale sign of the brunette's irritation over the inquiry. "The same as usual," she smiles affectionately at her girlfriend, not lying but not exactly giving her the whole story either…just wanting the conversation to be over.

"Remy," the blonde prompts, drawing the other woman's name out in a way that suggests that she isn't entirely satisfied by that answer.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Hadley keeps her head facing the television, her jaw set in agitation. "As well as can be expected from having someone pry into every painful part of your past and your every insecurity," she elaborates.

Allison opens her mouth to respond, only to be cut off before she can speak. "What time is it?" Alexis groans from her position on both women's lap.

"Time for you to go to bed," Remy smiles gently at her daughter, glad for the interruption.

"But I'm not tired," Alex argues, punctuating that statement with a yawn.

"Of course you aren't," her mother humors her, not bothering to chance a look at the older woman next to her as she stands up and lifts the smaller girl into her arms.

"You're going to tuck me in, right?" The eight-year old asks on the way to her room.

"Don't I always?" Remy questions playfully.

"And tell me a story too?" The little girl pushes, wanting to delay sleep as long as she can.

"If you like," Hadley affirms, wanting to avoid the inevitable conversation with Cameron as long as humanly possible.

Allison watches them leave the room with a troubled expression, worrying over how easily the other woman can switch her emotions…or turn them off all together. She breathes out a sigh of frustration, knowing that she isn't going to be able to get anything out of her girlfriend tonight.

* * *

Don't fear, I still love this story and still know where I'm going with it. Inspiration, motivation, and _**time**_ (as well as a still healing broken wrist) have all been issues with getting this finished. Between getting married and dealing with other general life things, writing has unfortunately taken a back seat. I would like to say that the next chapter will be up in a more timely fashion, but it's hard to say. It's my goal to update at least one of my other stories before this year is out, but it's hard to decide which one(s) to focus on.

I tried to incorporate one or two elements into this chapter that hint at future events. There's tension to be expected because this is still me writing after all (heh), but nothing too dire between Thirteen and Cameron (yet). Remember, after I finish with the _Unfaithful_ storyline in the next chapter, we'll be getting into the _Simple Explanation_ storyline…and also the final stretch of this story. I'm going to approximate that there will be less than ten chapters left, but given how some scenes and ideas tend to get away from me, it might be more.

As always, any criticisms or general comments are more than appreciated and they are also a good way to help the inspiration along (hint, hint). For those that prefer to not review, you can always feel free to send comments via PM. Every comment matters, even if it's to tell me that my writing is rusty and sucks now (or always did)…but don't feel pressured or obligated to if you don't feel like it.

Also, I updated my profile, check it out if you're interested, but it's no big deal if not.


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